Australians buy Lake Taupō Holiday Resort for $50m

- Hampshire Holiday Parks bought Lake Taupō Holiday Resort for $50m, expanding its New Zealand portfolio.

- The company has acquired nine resorts in two years, competing with Tasman Tourism New Zealand.

- Corporate ownership has raised holiday park prices, making it attractive for family operators to sell.

One of New Zealand’s favourite holiday parks has been sold to an Australian property company for $50 million.

Hampshire Holiday Parks snapped up Lake Taupō Holiday Resort last week, adding to its burgeoning collection of Kiwi tourist attractions.

In the last two years, the Australian company has acquired nine New Zealand resorts, putting the squeeze on its biggest rival, the overseas-owned Tasman Tourism New Zealand.

Combined, the two groups have an almost 10% share of the holiday park market in New Zealand. Both failed to respond to OneRoof’s repeated requests for comment.

The sale of Lake Taupō Holiday Resort was announced on the company’s Facebook page last week. Owners Lloyd and Trish Lusty thanked the thousands of guests they had hosted at the park.

Lake Taupō Holiday Resort, which includes cabins, units and campsites, has changed hands for the first time in 30 years. Photo / Hampshire Holiday Parks NZ Facebook

“What started as a dream has become a place full of unforgettable memories, laughter, and shared moments - and that’s all thanks to you,” their post said.

The Lustys bought the resort 30 years ago, turning what had been a paddock into a holiday park with a range of accommodation options, including villas, cottages, cabins, units and tent sites.

The park’s twin hydroslides, 165sqm lagoon-style heated pool and swim-up bar made it a top tourist attraction.

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Hampshire Holiday Parks was revealed as the new owner on the Facebook page the day after the Lustys wrote their farewell.

“We’re so excited to officially join the Hampshire Holiday Parks family!” the post said.

“Our amazing team is still here and ready to keep making our guests’ holiday dreams come true — with the same friendly faces, relaxing vibes, and the lagoon pool we all love.”

Hampshire Holiday Parks purchased Carters Beach Top 10, in Westport, earlier this year for $3.5m, and paid $27m for Ōhope Beach Top 10 Holiday Park in April last year.

The company first entered the New Zealand market in 2023 by purchasing leasehold interests in five South Island campgrounds – Queenstown Lakeview Holiday Park, Arrowtown Holiday Park, Wānaka Lakeview Holiday Park, Albert Town Camp Ground, and Glendhu Bay Motor Camp.

The central Otago campgrounds and the purchase of Kaikōura Top 10 Holiday Park in 2024 required approval from the OIO because it was sensitive land.

Hampshire Holiday Parks’ main competitor, Tasman Holiday Parks, has acquired 10 holiday parks in New Zealand in the last five years and has OIO approval to buy Wānaka Top 10.

Tasman Holiday Parks is a joint venture between an Australian private equity firm, Tasman Capital Management Pty Ltd, and Abu Dhabi-based investment company Al Sariya Third Commercial Investments RSC Limited.

Some of its first New Zealand purchases were Waihī Beach Holiday Park and Pāpāmoa Holiday Resort and, according to the OIO decision, had considerations of between $8m and $15.5m, respectively.

Tourism Properties principal Adrian Chisholm told OneRoof the big corporates had been snapping up the country’s largest parks, changing the resort landscape.

Chisholm said the larger corporates only wanted the large-scale holiday parks and were prepared big money to get them, leaving the much smaller parks to smaller New Zealand businesses.

Since the “big boys had come into town”, he hadn’t seen any of the large holiday parks in the hands of family operators. The large companies ideally wanted freehold land but settled for leasehold if it was the only option.

“The big corporates [are] just mopping up the prime holiday parks.”

Top 10 Holiday Parks Group chief executive David Ovendale agreed that holiday park ownership had changed dramatically in the last five years following the arrival of overseas operators with deep pockets.

The “corporate invasion” had significantly pushed up the price of some of these properties and made it very attractive for family operators to sell, he said. Some were “multi, multi-million dollar” deals.

“When you work for 35 years, and you’ve got someone in the market who will spend $20m or whatever, then clearly you’ll take it.”

Ovendale said there were pros and cons to holiday parks being owned by big corporates vs owner operators. The corporates had the money to spend on improvements which individual owners may not, but the downside was that people were dealing with employees rather than individual owners who “didn’t have skin in the game”.

While Tasman Holiday Park and Hampshire Holiday Park were the two biggest overseas players at the moment, other big overseas players also had their sights on New Zealand.

“It’s a combination of buying an asset that can generate you cash flow now and in many cases, particularly where the land is purchased as well, you’ve got this thing called future land use value, and that’s quite compelling.”

However, Ovendale said the biggest worry for him and others in the sector was whether they would stay holiday parks in the long term.

“The deepest concern is this whole thing around kaitiakitanga and long-term viability or retention of assets for the New Zealand public. That does concern all of us a bit in this sector because when you are beholden to shareholders, your motivations are different, and that might mean your grandchildren don’t get to go to Ōhope Beach in the way you might have been to Ōhope Beach as a young New Zealander.”

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