Forklift used during Gold Coast heist

A group of enterprising thieves have used a forklift to smash their way into two businesses on the Gold Coast overnight.

Just after 11pm on Monday the group of men cut through a fence at a Carrara watersports store before using a forklift to ram through a roller door and take cash.

They also used the forklift to break into an adjacent excavating business but nothing was taken before fleeing in a black sedan, police say.