to some one who understa

are doing now is bringing in additional resources because the syndicate members all have wonderful talents in management rights, and we are able to value add to the owners.”

Liam Kennedy said the syndicate allowed the management of each of the three properties to be “a lot more strategic”.

“We can do better deals for the owners by using our group buying power to buy things like the same linen and wifi that helps bring down the costs,” he said.

“Two of the properties that we’ve taken over haven’t seen a business model like ours. Coral Beach and Rimini were mum-and-dad operations.

“We’ve been here a while now and I think the owners and the bodies corporate realise that we’re bringing a lot of experience and knowledge to the complexes as we push to grow the business.

“We can draw staff from other properties in the portfolio if they’re needed and if it’s busy at Coral Beach and we can’t get to the phone, the call goes to another of the properties, so we don’t miss anyone.

“People no longer have to leave messages and wait for a call back. That way we don’t miss any opportunities for bookings.

“Claire and I have invested in the syndicate; we have our future on the line and we believe our business model is a big advance in the way management rights operate. We’re going to copy and stamp the model on the next properties we acquire because we’re already looking at expansion.”

Eric van Meurs says syndication seems to be taking on a greater emphasis with some of the bigger resorts.

“There’s a multitude of reasons why people would pull together a syndicate,” he said. “But in our case, we had a group of people who were already very heavily invested in the industry; a variety of people who brought diff erent skills and talents to the table. That included everything from accounting to lawyers, financial people and onsite operators, so we covered the entire gamut of people who were interested and involved in the industry.

“We were looking to acquire really good quality properties to do all of it well. To acquire well, operate them well, build a good portfolio from a returns perspective, and perhaps down the track, whatever the end game could be in the future even a sale.

“By forming a syndicate, the members have the opportunity to operate multiple resorts and build a greater portfolio.”

Eric said a syndicate also created opportunities to streamline costs and make a better operation for the owners and for the body corporate.

“You can deliver an even greater level of service than perhaps a single operator like me could deliver at Atlantis just because of the constraints of time,” he said.

“You can now have some unique ways of operating the resorts - that can be everything from the method of acquiring contractors, tradespeople, managers, bulk purchasing, and finding other

Liam Kennedy and his partner Claire Markwell have been members of the Suncoast syndicate since its inception

ways to bring costs down for the bodies corporate and the owners to get a better return.

“As everyone involved in the industry knows it is a relationship industry, and the owners know with this syndicate they are gett ing high-quality management with resources that go beyond the onsite management team.”

Eric said the three properties acquired by the syndicate so far, fi tted certain important criteria. They were well-maintained properties, with strong bodies corporate, and “the financials made sense with respect to strong lett ing pools”. There is the potential for strong growth, and “good leadership prior to the acquisition with good operators.”

He said his fellow syndicate members all had something to off er with experience in the diff erent aspects of the industry.

“If you have a whole host of silent investors and just one person who is trying to manage the property onsite and trying to maximise return for investors that is not our recipe for success,” he said.

“Our recipe is using the immense skills that exist among all the people involved in the partnership to make sure that every stage of the process from acquisition to onsite operation is done at the highest level.

“We have a varied portfolio; one of the properties, Atlantis, is right on the sea, and then you’ve got the beautiful Gympie Terrace with the river at Noosa. So we’ll look to continue to diversify the portfolio and Suncoast may look at branding some of our properties to show people that if you’re a returning guest you have the option of a variety of resorts and that high-quality experience at all of them.”

Tony Rossiter said the syndicate identified Liam and Claire as exceptional managers.

“They have a long history in Noosa management rights, and they were introduced to us as people who wanted to create their own path and we were able to do that.

“If they were to use their own financial resources to buy management rights it would be a small business. whereas with our model we can get them into a much larger business and utilise their skills.

“Everybody wins that way.”

Paul Grant, from Mike Phipps Finance, was involved in negotiating the finance for the syndicate.

He said the group “includes previous and current MLR owner/operators along with industry professionals.

“When negotiating terms with the lenders the strength of the group was recognised by all the banks and resulted in a very favourable finance package being offered.”

Mike Phipps says syndication allows exceptional managers who may not be able to acquire a large management rights business by themselves to match their skills and experience to a suitable business.

He said the group of properties and the locations acquired by Suncoast presented a great syndication opportunity.

“In many cases,” Mike said, “where we are assisting groups to acquire multiple properties it’s the complexion of the portfolio rather than any individual property that is appealing.

“For investors, most of whom are current or former owners of management rights, syndication is a way to invest in an industry they know. For unit owners, the benefits that come from having a highly professional management team in place generally result in better unit owner returns and outcomes.”