Dunes Golf Resort all teed-up for buyer

A new owner could take over the 34ha Dunes Golf Resort "as a virtual turnkey operation", says James Hill. Photo / Chris McLennan

Picturesque Coromandel property is being marketed as striking business opportunity, writes Colin Taylor

One of New Zealand's most picturesque coastal golf resorts, with adjoining development land suitable for residential or commercial accommodation, is being marketed as a striking property and business opportunity.

"A new owner could take over the resort as a virtual turnkey operation," says James Hill, who is selling the 34ha of golf course, club buildings, villas and bare land sites through a price by negotiation process in a joint marketing campaign with agency JLL.

Featured in Bayleys' latest Greater Auckland portfolio publication, the Dunes Golf Resort at Matarangi on the Coromandel Peninsula is an 18-hole Bob Charles-designed golf course built on a sandy peninsula. A number of holes are built around manmade lakes overlooked by holiday homes and resort-linked apartment units.

The Dunes Golf Resort sale package includes a fully licensed clubhouse, bar and restaurant that not only serves as a welcome respite for golfers at the end of their rounds, but is also a popular food and beverage destination for Matarangi residents and holiday makers.

The offering also includes nine two and three-bedroom villas rented either as holiday homes or for accommodating corporate clients booking the resort clubhouse and course for meetings, conferences or incentive packages. The 120sq m fully furnished villas have advertised rack rates of between $250 to $400 depending on seasonality and room size.

An additional 20 bare villa sites of about 500sq m each overlook the seventh tee and the lake and are included in the sale offering.

Aerial view of The Dunes Golf Resort. Photo / Chris McLennan

The 850sq m clubhouse and hospitality centre is configured to accommodate corporate meetings and conferences for up to 40 people in a theatre seating arrangement.

The venue's restaurant and bar areas can comfortably seat up to 170 guests for larger functions such as weddings and birthday parties.

The Dunes' kitchen has been designed for commercial standard catering with food-preparation equipment including grills, ovens and a deep fryer, while the bar offers a range of tap beer lines and is served by back-bar refrigeration units.

"As a beachside destination with a population fluctuating wildly over the calendar year, most of the resort's revenues come in during the November to April, summer and shoulder periods, so there is the potential for a new owner to look at building revenues over the middle part of the year," Hill says.

Matarangi has a resident population of about 350 which swells to more than 7000 over the holiday and summer months.

"The Dunes Golf Resort operates as a multi-faceted business deriving revenues from its golfing operations, its food and beverage outlet to a local community, serving as a function and destination venue for the corporate sector during the week and catering to the leisure market at weekends.

"The business would therefore suit new owner-operators with a background and experience in the running the likes of a boutique upmarket lodge or destination function centre," Hill says.

"It would also be an attractive proposition for two couples to take over - dividing their expertise between front of house and back of house, with an overarching emphasis on marketing."

He says food and beverage, and housekeeping staff, are employed on an "as and when required" contract basis to service specific events and functions as well as during the peak summer months. Outside of busy periods, a skeleton staff of three fulltime employees operates the course's "pro" shop, starter's office and the adjacent restaurant and bar.

Sixteen of the adjoining privately owned villas within the course grounds are placed in a fully managed accommodation pool.

The resort town of Matarangi was established in 1978 and features a mix of lavish beachfront mansions and affordable holiday homes located further inland and around helicopter landing pads.

Matarangi Beach, viewed from the resort's first and second holes, stretches 4.5km and has an all-tide boat ramp.

The sand-based par 72 course, opened in the 1980s, measures 6176m off the back tees, or 5778m off the standard men's tees.

Hill says the topography and design of the course allows the fairway and green maintenance to be easily managed with four greenkeepers.

Infrastructure includes a 265sq m greenkeeper's administrative office and machinery shed which houses gang-mower, greens mower and vegetation control equipment.

The course has a computer-controlled, German-designed irrigation system to water fairways, tee areas and green. The $2 million irrigation system draws unlimited water from the course's central collection lakes ensuring lush conditions virtually year-round.

Ten electric-powered Yamaha golf carts are also available for hire by players.

Hill says it's highly possible the Dunes Golf Resort could join a trend of established New Zealand golfing resorts going into foreign ownership - underpinning growing visitor numbers from China.

"Over the past two years we have noted Chinese investors buying and developing similar tourism-related properties in Northland through the Carrington Club hotel, winery and golf course complex on the Karikari Peninsula, and the Okoroire Hot Springs Hotel and associated golf course in 2014."