Fleetwood, Rio vary Searipple deal
Shares in Fleetwood Corporation were up sharply after it struck a new, more favourable agreement with Rio Tinto over its Searipple Accommodation Village in Karratha.
Rio has had year-long, rolling agreements with Fleetwood for accommodation at Searipple since December 2012.
Under a variation to its agreement, Searipple will be designated as Rio's preferred third party accommodation option for all FIFO workers across Dampier and Karratha.
The variation allows Rio to occupy up to 804 of the 1326 rooms at the village with right of refusal over additional rooms that become available.
The new agreement will operate for an initial term of 34 months with three one-year options thereafter.
The variation is expected to see higher occupancy rates at Searipple, which Fleetwood has struggled to fill in recent months because of the mining downturn.
Fleetwood shares were up 13.5 cents, or 10.93 per cent, to $1.37 at 11.15am.
