Plans for Australia's first Trump Tower scrapped due to 'toxic' brand, developer says

Plans for a A$1.5bn ($1.1bn; £802m) Trump Tower in Queensland have been scrapped with an Australian developer blaming the "toxic" Trump brand and the Iran war for the project's demise.

It comes just three months after the deal was announced, with claims that the 91-storey luxury hotel on the Gold Coast would be Australia's tallest building, measuring 335 metres (1,100 ft) high, taller than the Shard in London.

Details about the project have been deleted from the Trump Organization's website with a spokesperson saying the developer had not met obligations.

Altus Property Group denied those claims and maintained the project would continue with other luxury brands as options.

"Let's just say that with the Iran war and everything else, the Trump brand was increasingly toxic in Australia," David Young, chief executive of Altus Property group, said in a statement.

"Some time ago we knew it was time to part company. It was not about not meeting obligations. There are other luxury brand options for us. The project is live."

A spokeswoman for the Trump Organisation said it had been "very excited" about the project, but had relied on it's "licensing partner meeting certain obligations".

"After months of negotiations and empty promise, after empty promise, on a supposed $1.5 billion project, Altus Property Group was unable to meet the most basic financial obligation due upon the execution of the agreement," Kimberly Benza, director of executive operations for the Trump Organization, said.

"Mr Young's attempt to blame certain world events for our termination of the agreement is merely a ploy to distract from his own defaults and failures."

She added that the company looked forward to "exploring other potential projects and bringing a Trump property to Australia soon".

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said the local council had not received a development application for the site and the project was "an agreement between two private parties".

He blamed the deal's collapse on negotiations over profit margins.

"The Trump Organization wants a lot more for their brand on the funding side of things, to operate it and the percentage of return," Tate told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

When the project was announced in February, Eric Trump - executive vice president of the Trump Organization and Donald Trump's second son - said it was the company's first official foray in Australia, bringing "the prestige and allure of a world-class luxury brand" to the country.

Construction was due to begin in August with the building to have 285 hotel rooms and 272 luxury residential apartments as well as shops, restaurants and an exclusive beach club.

The project has divided locals, with a petition against the development attracting more than 120,000 signatures, while another petition supporting the deal had about 3,600 signatures, according to local media.