Dreamworld gets a boost in value

In the face of major new complementing attractions to the Gold Coast theme park, Dreamworld has been given further confidence to owners Macquarie Leisure Trust Group as an independent valuation saw the park's value increase by nearly 30%.

Part of being a publicly listed company is annual valuations of all properties, as this affects the share price. Dreamworld has seen a $51 million jump in its value at its most recent valuation, undertaken by an independent company, seeing its value skyrocket from $175 to $226 million. 

By a stark contrast, the company paid a relatively paltry sum of $114.8 million for the thriving Gold Coast theme park in February 1998 to form the backbone of the organisation which was built around the purchase of the park.

Since this date they have invested considerably into the park's facilities, introducing many major attractions - including Giant Drop, Australian Wildlife Experience, Cyclone, Nickelodeon Central, The Claw and Wiggles World. Their most recent addition is the interactive surfing attraction FlowRider.

Dreamworld's attendance has been steadily on the rise since day one and the park's operating margins also going up, especially since the appointment of Stephen Gregg as CEO of Dreamworld from early-2004.

The change in value reflects recent steps forward by Macquarie Leisure to utilise surrounding land to develop several complementing attractions including the 2006 water park and 2007's CityWalk shopping district.

The goal is to create an entertainment precinct which will make Dreamworld less of a one-day theme park and more of an all-inclusive holiday experience, tackling competition Warner Village Theme Parks head-on by offering similar experiences in a single location.

With rumours that Village Roadshow could be preparing to float their theme park organisation on the stock market, since purchasing Warner Bros.' 50% share, competition on the Gold Coast could be set to go up a gear.

The Dreamworld Water Park opens in December of this year.