Trees Adventure

Overview

Trees Adventure is Australia�s largest treetop and zipline eco-adventure company. Its first park opened in Victoria in 2010 and the business has since grown into the clear market leader in its segment with more than 240,000 visitors annually.

In 2020, 333 Capital assisted Trees Adventure to acquire its main competitor in the sector, Treetops Australia. The acquisition bolstered its presence in New South Wales and firmly established its position as the only operator with a truly national footprint in the market. The acquisition also included development approvals for two key metropolitan sites in Sydney and Melbourne.

Subsequent to the purchase of TreeTops Australia, 333 Capital helped Trees Adventure to secure its first strategic financial partner, with the new funding allowing it to proceed with an extensive pipeline of development opportunities?.

Objective

The acquisition of Treetops Australia was intended to secure Trees Adventure\'s first mover advantage

in a high-growth subsector of the Australian tourism industry. Although zipline eco-tourism was well developed in Europe, the industry was in its infancy in Australia and through the acquisition of its closest competitor and a subsequent strategic investment, Trees Adventure would be well-positioned to secure market leadership for many years to come.

Our approach

Immediately following the acquisition, the COVID-19 pandemic drove Australia\'s tourism industry into temporary hibernation. In an uncertain environment, 333 Capital marketed Trees Adventure to private equity groups and family offices, demonstrating the business\'s sound underlying fundamentals and readiness to reopen when the restrictions were lifted.

333 Capital highlighted Trees Adventure\'s position as the only owner-builder-operator in Australia and outlined its plans to open a

 fully integrated super site at a major new shopping centre within six months of the initial investment. Investors were provided with a fully modelled overview of the business development plan, including the opening of a further eight sites over the next three years, with four already in advanced stages of planning and development approval.

Outcome

Through the combination of a targeted strategic acquisition and the sale of a minority stake to an experienced and supportive financial investor, Trees Adventure was able to complete on its pipeline of development opportunities during a period of significant uncertainty in the Australian tourism sector.