AS the founder of Fogarty Wine Group, Peter Fogarty heads the largest wine producer in Western Australia.
As well as wineries in WA, NSW, Victoria and Tasmania, his operations include restaurants at Millbrook Winery and Bunkers Beach House.
Now, Mr Fogarty has taken the first step to adding accommodation to his portfolio, as the major investor in the $40 million redevelopment of the Rottnest Lodge.
With work getting under way at the lodge this month, his next project is likely to be the development of accommodation units at Millbrook, one hour south of Perth in the hills at Jarrahdale.
Mr Fogarty is also looking to develop new accommodation near his Tasmanian vineyards, between Hobart and the historic town of Richmond.
He sees these investments as complementary, especially as Fogarty Wine Group has more than 20,000 members in its wine club.
“We see that we can link what we are doing with our food and beverage offer at Millbrook and our membership base and offer something where they can get into Rottnest,” Mr Fogarty told Business News.
“We are seeing this more and more across Australia, where tourism, food and beverage are linked.
“We are looking at other accommodation options now.” Mr Fogarty said the Rottnest resort, to be known as The Lodge Wadjemup, was aiming to deliver a quality experience while still being relaxed and affordable.
“You can go to Rottnest and still have nice wine and nice food, that’s the new style,” he said.
Mr Fogarty believes domestic tourism will be a long-term winner from COVID.
“I just don’t think people are going to rush back in, they are going to be a lot more cautious about where they travel,” he said.
That has encouraged him to look at developing accommodation at Millbrook.
“People want to get out of town for a couple of days, stay in some nice accommodation, have a nice meal, go for walks in the hills,” Mr Fogarty said.
“That’s what the shire wants to do up there as well.”
The Rottnest project is led by property consultancy Place Development Australia, which was selected last year by the Rottnest Island Authority as preferred proponent.
PDA director Rob Bates-Smith said he initially partnered with Sirona Urban to find investors but that lapsed after Mr Fogarty showed interest.
The investment was led by Mr Fogarty’s corporate advisory firm Pendulum Capital.
“Pendulum has put together a group of investors led by our family,” he said.
“It’s basically our family and some close associates and friends, all from WA.” Mr Fogarty said his plans were informed by discussions with Peter Prendiville, whose family owns the Rottnest Hotel and developed the Samphire resort two years ago.
“We’ve known each other a long time, we get on well, so we said ‘Let’s optimise what we both do on the island’.”
Mr Fogarty said this could include joint promotion of Rottnest.
“We’ve said it’s in both our interests,” he said.
The Prendiville family has already provided some handy advice.
“We’ve actually got a lot more storage space than we originally had planned,” Mr Fogarty said.
“They said make sure you put in lots of storage.”
That will help the resort deal with the vagaries of inclement weather disrupting barge deliveries to the island.
The two groups have also joined forces to jointly develop new accommodation for up to 90 staff on the island.
They believe that, long term, this will be cheaper than having staff travel back and forth on the ferry.
It also means the two groups will have staff available to work early each morning and later each night.
Mr Bates-Smith said the Rottnest Island Authority had earmarked a site for the accommodation, which would feature modular structures built on the mainland and assembled on the island.
Mr Fogarty said all operators on the island would benefit from new developments, as they would bring more options for visitors.
“We adopt the same approach in the wine business; we have no problem working with our competitors, because our view is you will never have 100 per cent of the market,” he said.
“We make wine for other people, we don’t care if they get a prize and we don’t, because that’s good for our site.”
The development of The Lodge Wadjemup is expected to take about 19 months.
It will be pitched as accessible, inclusive, and laid-back, covering three different price points.
The 31 refurbished rooms in the former Boy’s Reformatory, which forms the core of the existing buildings, will provide simple, basic accommodation priced at about $300 per night.
The refurbished Lakeside villas will have 32 rooms at a higher price point.
The premium accommodation will be 46 newly built rooms, which are described as equivalent to a suite but with more space.
The resort also includes a new restaurant and bar, which will have views of the salt lakes. Mr Bates-Smith emphasised the restaurant and bar would be open to all.
“We want this to be accessible for all visitors to the island,” he said.
The resort will also feature a public space, to be known as the Gathering Ground, and a dedicated function space for weddings and conferences, in place of a previously announced wellness centre.
The developers have signed up Miles Hull and Graeme Dick of Social Grounds Hospitality to operate both the accommodation and food and beverage offerings.
Their experience includes running The Alex Hotel and the adjoining restaurant, Shadow Wine Bar.
Mr Bates-Smith said it was rare to find operators with experience across both accommodation and food and beverage.
