Taiwanese billionaire acquires Surfers Paradise city block
A full Cavill Avenue city block opposite Surfers Paradise Beach has changed hands for $346.5 million in the biggest mixed-use hotel and retail transaction in Queensland's history.
Taiwanese billionaire Lin Chen-hai, through his investment vehicle Forest Endeavour, has acquired both Paradise Centre and the adjoining Novotel Surfers Paradise — a 2.3-hectare landholding at 2 Cavill Avenue with more than 220 metres of street frontage. Lin's personal fortune is estimated at $4.2 billion, built through his private development company Pau Jar Group before expanding offshore. Forest Endeavour was also behind a recent $500 million acquisition of a ten-property Woolworths supermarket portfolio.
The assets had been brought to market last September by ASX-listed Elanor Investors Group with an asking price approaching $400 million, via a joint campaign by JLL and McVay Real Estate. When the listing launched, McVay Real Estate chairman Dan McVay was characteristically direct: "It's a monster. It's a whole city block."
The campaign drew fierce international interest. JLL's Nick Willis described the result as validation of just how rarely such opportunities arise: "Mixed-use assets of this scale and quality rarely come to market in Australia … The depth of competition throughout the campaign underscored just how scarce opportunities of this nature are."
Built in 1980 and refurbished with a $40 million upgrade in 2022, Paradise Centre spans approximately 23,000 square metres anchored by Woolworths and the world's largest Timezone. The centre draws up to 14 million visitors annually, generates around $19 million in net rental income, and was near-fully leased at the time of listing at a yield of approximately seven per cent. Tenants include The Sporting Globe, Surfers Paradise Tavern, Starbucks, Zone Bowling and Australia's first Wendy's concept store.
The adjoining Novotel — the Gold Coast's largest non-casino hotel — adds 408 rooms, two multilevel penthouse suites, conferencing facilities, a pool and a spa. It was offered with vacant possession as a value-add play, with lower floors already upgraded to four-star standard and upper levels requiring an estimated further $20 million in works.
"In the current building environment, delivering new projects of this calibre is increasingly difficult. The Paradise Centre and Novotel offering provides immediate exposure to premium assets without taking on development risk," JLL's Sam Hatcher said.
The result reflects the Gold Coast's rising profile as a destination for offshore capital, brought about by record tourism, interstate migration and infrastructure investment ahead of the 2032 Olympics. A proposed $1.5 billion Trump International Hotel and Tower nearby — pitched as Australia's tallest building — signals further confidence in the precinct.
Jonathan Jackson, 6th May 2026
