Dreamworld owner Ardent looking at 'real estate' value

Ardent Leisure says it is looking at unlocking value from parts of Dreamworld.

Dreamworld could be broken up and sold in the wake of last year's ride tragedy as the theme park's owners assess their options for its future.

In a statement on Wednesday, Ardent Leisure said it had kicked off a review earlier this year of its 2015 Master Plan for the Dreamworld Gold Coast precinct, which could unlock its real estate value.

"Dreamworld is located on prime real estate adjacent to the new Coomera town centre and core infrastructure," the company said.

In February, Ardent Leisure posted a loss of A$49 million in the first half of the financial year after slashing the value of the theme park by more than A$90m. Four people died October last year after a catastrophic malfunction of the park's Thunder River Rapids ride.

Ardent said the review was "considering a number of important factors" including the "impact of recent events at Dreamworld", the "feasibility of rezoning parts of the site for alternate uses", and "analysis of the existing Dreamworld footprint to identify potential opportunities for unlocking value".

"As part of this review Ardent has appointed a town planner to assess the feasibility of rezoning parts of the precinct," the company said. "Ardent has, and will continue to, engage with third-party developers to discuss potential development opportunities and timing for any redevelopment within the precinct."

The entertainment company said "notwithstanding the review" it would "continue to invest in Dreamworld to facilitate its recovery and ensure it remains one of the Gold Coast's key tourist attractions".

Despite cutting ticket prices and offering other incentives, Dreamworld has failed to bring back crowds following the tragedy which took the lives of Cindy Low, Kate Goodchild, Luke Dorsett and Roozi Araghi.

In a trading update earlier this month, Ardent said visitation during March and April was down 36.7 per cent on the prior year and revenue was down 38.9 per cent to A$9.6m. Ardent said it expects the theme park division to report a loss of between A$2-4m for the 12 months ending 30 June 2017.