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Property developer Nigel McKenna said yesterday he had sold a third of what will be a billion-dollar development at Kawarau Falls Station near Queenstown.
In one of the largest property transactions negotiated in New Zealand, British-based BlueSky Capital will invest more than $300 million in Melview Developments' resort.
McKenna said the Overseas Investment Office had approved the investment, which includes the five-star boutique Westin Hotel, the 221-room Intercontinental, plus a 197-room serviced apartment hotel. The properties are part of the 13 separate buildings which comprise the resort.
Excavations had begun and at its height the project would employ 800 workers.
The acquisition is the first to be made by BlueSky Capital's Global Destinations Fund I, which intends to invest in a portfolio of five-star hotel and resort real estate assets in the Pacific Rim.
