The Sultan of Brunei has sold a Surfers Paradise site.
The Sultan of Brunei has offloaded a long-held Surfers Paradise property to a Dubai-based developer in an under-the-radar near $70m deal.
The transaction sees a new Middle Eastern entrant forge into the luxury apartment market, as it angles to capitalise on the hesitancy of local developers who have been held back by slow unit sales and concerns about pricing.
The area has come under scrutiny as Gold Coast unit prices are under pressure, although savvy developers are already buying for an expected pick-up in the next cycle.
The scale of the sale is significant. Monaco Property Group bought 122–130 Marine Parade, Miami, to south of Surfers Paradise for $70m in 2024. It is now developing Nalu, a $500m luxury beachfront residential project that has broken apartment records.
The area has attracted other large players but not all have been successful. In May, plans for a $1.5bn Trump Tower project in Surfers Paradise collapsed, less than three months after they were unveiled. That would have seen a 91-storey luxury skyscraper at Trickett St in Surfers Paradise, but an $82m option has lapsed.
The Brunei ruler put his long-held block on the market last year after close to 30 years of ownership without kicking off a project. The Sultan picked up the long-vacant site in 1997 but rebuffed entreaties to develop it from the likes of Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate.
The 7558sq m site was sold by Colliers Steven King and Jackson Robinson, and it marks one of the largest sales on the Gold Coast.
The Middle Eastern developer will have a giant L-shaped site fronting Surfers Paradise Blvd, View Ave and The Esplanade to develop. It has sat unused for more than three decades, despite a surge in development in the area.
Part of the site was used as a carpark at times and another element fronting the beach housed the Imaginator attraction in 2024.
The Brunei sovereign bought the site via a government-controlled company for about $15m. The Sultan, one of the world’s richest men, has never promoted any plans for the block that was known in the 1980s as the Imperial Wing site, when it was controlled by Japanese and Australian companies, who had hotels and apartment buildings in mind.
Mr Tate wrote to the Sultan in August 2012 calling for the billionaire to finally break ground on the site. Former federal politician Steven Ciobo argued that it could be ideal for a casino.
The new owner appears more likely to focus on its position in Surfers Paradise and proximity to the beach.