G’day Group boosts holiday park assets to $1.5b after buying Margaret River’s Taunton Farm

Regional tourism company G’day Group has expanded its Discovery Park operations on its original home turf of Western Australia with the acquisition of Taunton Farm Holiday Park in the Margaret River region for an undisclosed sum.

The property is the second acquisition by the Adelaide-based G’day Group in the past two months and comes on the heels of a deal for Moama Waters Holiday Park, located on the banks of the Murray River in NSW near Echuca.

Taunton Farm, a 17.6ha tourism property established in 1992, is the largest holiday park in the Margaret River region and previously operated under the BIG4 brand.

The property features 18 tourist cabins as well as powered caravan and camper sites, but G’day Group sees plenty of upside for the site and has laid plans to initially spend about $1 million on upgrading facilities.

The latest acquisition boosts the G’day Group portfolio to 88 holiday parks and resorts nationally.

The group, which is majority owned by Australian Retirement Trust, has a property portfolio of more than $1.5 billion and confirms it is on track to hit its target of $2 billion by 2026.

“We are thrilled to welcome Taunton Farm Holiday Park into our Discovery Parks portfolio,” said G’day Group CEO Grant Wilckens who founded the tourism company in 2004 with three caravan parks in Western Australia.

“Margaret River is one of Australia's premier tourism destinations, and this acquisition underlines our focus on providing exceptional holiday experiences in the country’s most sought-after regional destinations.

“Taunton Farm offers a distinctive blend of natural beauty and family-friendly activities. With its farm stay experiences and proximity to the region’s famous wineries, beaches and other attractions, its offering is well suited to our key family market.”

G’Day Group has sketched out plans to eventually expand the accommodation offering of the property.

“Our initial investment will focus on enhancing the existing facilities to ensure they meet the high standards our guests expect in a Discovery Parks property,” says Wilckens.

“We see significant potential for future development, which will allow us to offer even more accommodation options and amenities in the coming years.”

Following the acquisition, G’day Group has rebranded the former BIG4 Taunton Farm Holiday Park to Discovery Parks – Margaret River.

Apart from owning 85 holiday parks G’day Group is home to a network of more than 300 properties across the country which includes G’day Parks, a community of more than 220 independently owned licenced parks.

It also operates Wikicamps, described as the country’s biggest regional travel community, and has about 230,000 paid members of the G’day Rewards loyalty program.