Big plan for Pegasus tourist resort hangs on offshore cash

Wednesday, 24 May 2023

A golf and wellness resort planned for Pegasus could bring tens of millions of dollars to the North Canterbury region each year.

Ambitious plans for a tourist resort with hotels, a spa, swimming and hot pools, a country club, golf school and apartments at Pegasus could bring millions of dollars into North Canterbury – but depend on securing overseas funding.

The $75 million to $100m project is planned by Sports and Education Corporation, a company owned by Auckland businessman Sam Huo.

It would see the Mapleham area surrounding the Pegasus golf course developed as a major resort.

An image of the three-storey consented convention hotel.

The company bought the course and club facilities on 80 hectares for $14.8m in 2018. It has an 18-hole course, driving range, practice greens, shop, restaurant and bar, tennis court and gym.

Huo said the planned new tourist development would take 10 to 15 years to complete. It would be aimed at both staying guests and day visitors.

A special-purpose zone for the resort project has been included in Waimakariri District Council’s proposed 10-year plan, but remains subject to submission hearings later this year, a council spokesperson said.

Visitor accommodation would overlook the golf course.

“As currently proposed, the majority of activities listed within the zone require resource consent when and if a specific development concept is advanced,” he said.

The plan includes apartments overlooking the golf course, a complex of pools – some outdoors and others covered by domed structures – and a hotel at the corner of Pegasus Bvd and Mapleham Drive.

Pegasus is a master-planned town in North Canterbury.

However, the company has dropped one of two planned hotels on the site. It has put a vacant 8000m² block, which has resource consent for a 56-room hotel with convention facilities, up for sale by tender.

Hao said Covid had slowed plans to secure an operator for the convention hotel, and they would put the sale proceeds into the wider site.

“We wish to attract [a] good hotel brand to grab this shovel-ready project”.

He said they were focused on creating the remainder of the resort as a new tourism destination, but needed to secure funding first.

Images of the planned Pegasus golf and wellness resort, which could take 10 to 15 years to come to fruition.

“Over the past years, we found great difficulty in terms of getting [a] bank loan for the proposed development.”

New Zealand Trade and Enterprise has been helping the company find investors from Japan, Dubai and Singapore, Hao said.

“Recently, a Hong Kong-based investment capital [firm] has expressed interest on the project. Negotiation is under way, and it may take a few months to become clearer.”

A financial impact report prepared for the resort’s rezoning application forecasts the design and construction of the resort would inject a one-off $75m into the region, with an ongoing spend by visitors estimated at $83m a year.

The Pegasus golf course hosts major tournaments on the national golfing calendar.

The “comprehensive, integrated tourism facility with mass appeal” would provide ongoing financial and employment benefits for the district, the report says.

“This is supported by a range of data, which show that the district’s current level of tourism activity, and employment self-sufficiency, are lower than most other territorial authorities in New Zealand,” it says.

Pegasus, a master-planned town, now has a population of over 3000.

The original plan for the town included hot pools and hotel and convention facilities as part of the commercial centre, but they did not come about.

The Pegasus championship golf course hosts major tournaments such as the New Zealand PGA and the NZ Women’s Open.