Rapidly expanding tourism group Tasman Holiday Parks has completed $65 million in acquisitions this quarter, highlighted by the company’s first foray into the key Victorian market.
The settlement of four acquisitions for 2022 solidifies its foundations as the leading trans-Tasman operator of holiday parks.
The company has a further $120 million in holiday parks either under contract or in advanced pipeline in Australia, coupled with a further $30 million (NZD) in New Zealand.
The latest acquisitions have grown the Tasman Holiday Parks portfolio to 26 properties, with 21 in Australia and five in New Zealand. The number of revenue-generating sites has grown to over 4,000, positioning Tasman Holiday Parks to meet its target of doubling in size over the two years to the end of 2023.
The company, supported by a $300 million capital raising late last year, is tapping into rising demand from the tourism drive market for holiday accommodation in idyllic locations.
Tasman Holiday Parks has deployed more than $65 million in capital through acquisitions in the latest quarter, in addition to significant development investment.
The latest Australian acquisitions comprise two major investments in Western Australia, with Yallingup Beach Holiday Park and Yallingup Caves Holiday Park, highlighting WA as a key market for the company, positioning Tasman Holiday Parks for a domestic tourism boost as the nation celebrates WA’s long-awaited border reopening.
An award winning park in New South Wales has also joined the fold, with Tasman’s recent acquisition of BIG4 Ballina Headlands Holiday Park.
BIG4 Ballina has been notched up a string of awards, including the People’s Choice Award at the 2020 BIG4 Annual Awards, and more recently the Bronze Award in the People’s Choice Caravan Park of the Year at the 2021 Caravan Industry Association Awards.
The family-owned park has been tightly held for 25 years, developing a legacy which Tasman Holiday Parks CEO Nikki Milne said they were looking forward to continuing.
“We have a huge respect for the proud family history BIG4 Ballina possesses alongside being one of NSW’s most awarded holiday parks, and we are looking forward to playing an active role in maintaining this tradition moving forward,” she said.
Tasman is venturing into the Victorian market with the milestone acquisition of Riverglen Holiday Park in Geelong – a substantially sized, scalable holiday park comprising 125 permanent cabins.
Each of the newly acquired properties will further strengthen Tasman Holiday Parks’ position in market.
“The Geelong acquisition marks our first entry into the Victorian market as we continue to explore opportunities for key holiday parks across Australia and New Zealand,” said Ms Milne.
“The reopening of state borders in Australia has seen a surge in the domestic drive market which we believe will continue even with international travel restrictions also easing.
“Our operations in Australia have been performing extremely well. Victoria will play a key role in our expansion strategy, with our properties in the NSW Murray region showing continued strength and growth.
“We are well positioned in the New Zealand market with major investments underway as we prepare for the April 13 border reopening date.”
Tasman Holiday Parks’ proposed New Zealand acquisitions will add significant scale to the group’s New Zealand operations, taking the company’s total number of revenue-generating sites under management to almost 1,000 across its holiday parks in New Zealand.
“New Zealand remains a prime drive market for the group, and increasingly so as international borders reopen for the country, and we will continue to pursue new opportunities as they arise,” said Ms Milne.
Tasman Holiday Parks is also rapidly increasing its focus on development across its portfolio, led by the expansion of its premium holiday park holding at Racecourse Beach at Bawley Point on the NSW South Coast, with a strong development pipeline also commenced in QLD.
“We have an incredibly strong development pipeline across key assets in NSW, QLD and NZ, and we are preparing to invest a further $30 million in re-development in the year ahead,” said Ms Milne.
“Reinvesting in our acquisitions and recapitalising assets is an important part of the group’s growth strategy.”
Tasman Holiday Parks, which currently welcomes more than 325,000 guests a year across Australia and New Zealand, has now invested a total of more than $350 million in acquisitions and development activity since mid-2020.
