Marcos Ambrose's investor group lists Thousand Lakes Lodge for $2.4m

Thousand Lakes Lodge, a tourism retreat on Tasmania’s Central Plateau, is on the market for $2.4 million, with an investor group fronted by retired motorsport champion Marcos Ambrose behind the sale, The Examiner reported on 2 November. The 3.86-acre property was listed on 30 October, and expressions of interest close on 10 December.

Why it matters

The lodge stands within the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. It is for sale for the first time since its renovation, almost ten years after Ambrose and his team bought the site from the state government in 2016.

The site began in 1980 as Bernacchi Lodge, a base for readying scientists ahead of Antarctic visits. It sat abandoned from 1999, exposed to the weather, until Ambrose’s group rebuilt it in a nine-month, $1.3 million project, and it opened in 2017, with then-premier Will Hodgman cutting the ceremonial ribbon. Ambrose said at the opening that the team worked through winter, the June 2016 floods and heavy snow to open on schedule.

LAWD sales agent Nathan Cleeland said the group took over a run-down asset in 2016 and spent years extending and renovating it. He said the lodge now has a track record, prior bookings and an established reputation, and is ready for a new owner. The property is expected to attract buyers from across Australia, and he thinks the purchaser will be an established tourism operator, probably one that already holds accommodation assets. He described the sale as “walk-in, walk-out”, with all furniture and equipment included, and said the asking price sits well under the replacement cost of the building. He said Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane buyers will see value in it, as will Tasmanian operators with local expertise.

The numbers

The asking price is $2.4 million for the 3.86-acre property. A Crown lease runs until 2063, with provision for a further 49 years. Guests can go bushwalking, fishing and cycling, and see plenty of wildlife. In late 2017 Lonely Planet ranked the lodge third on its international list of best new places to stay, and it has drawn consistent five-star reviews since.

What’s next

Expressions of interest close on 10 December, and LAWD is handling the listing. The Examiner did not report who else is in Ambrose’s investor group.

Related Tasmanian accommodation project: a Bellerive hotel project.

The Australian Developer