The trophy home paper trail has connected three big luxury sales in Sydney, while ex-Virgin boss Paul Scurrah and wife Nicole are selling their Brisbane home.
Sydney’s northern beaches is living up to its close-knit reputation as “the insular peninsula”, following three interconnected prestige sales worth a combined $39.25 million.
First to the Sydney elites’ playground of choice – Palm Beach – where ex-JPMorgan head of equities Matthew Roberts and his wife Samantha have emerged as the buyers of the north shore Boffa hairdressing dynasty’s Palm Beach Road abode of the past quarter of a century.
Matthew and Samantha Roberts have taken the keys to Frank and Jan Boffa’s $12m Palm Beach property.
Built in 1934, the Roberts’ new weekender is billed as one of the exclusive enclave’s first grand homes. Located 100 metres from the world-famous golden sands, the property features a pool, butler’s pantry, sash windows and views from several living areas and terraces.
Settlement documents have confirmed that Mr Roberts – a partner at boutique M&A adviser Highbury Partnership – and his wife have paid $12 million for the distinctive six-bedroom property owned by Frank and Jan Boffa on dress-circle Palm Beach Road.
It appears the property will be used as a weekender, given the Roberts retain a primary base in Bellevue Hill purchased for $10.5 million in 2016, according to CoreLogic. The couple have previously owned famed author Patrick White’s Centennial Park home Highbury, which they sold for $9.1 million in 2016.
The 1934-built Palm Beach house, billed as one of the region’s first grand homes, comes with ocean views and a pool.
However, the Roberts’ property dealings with the Boffas – whose patriarch Frank Boffa snr opened their first salon in Chatswood in 1936 – don’t end there.
The distinctive surname Boffa – this time relating to Frank’s brother Chris Boffa (who opened the St Ives Salon in 1982) and his wife Julieann – was also behind the purchase of the Roberts’ Newport beachside trophy home, which sold for $13 million in May.
Chris and Julieann have now settled on the Roberts’ beachside abode on Calvert Parade, which comes with a six-bedroom luxury home on a 1180-square-metre oceanfront landholding overlooking Newport Beach, not to mention an 11.5-metre mosaic-tiled lap pool and several living zones.
Chris and Julieann Boffa’s purchase has the couple swapping Pittwater views for the Pacific, given their beachside splash follows their recent sale of their Pittwater-fronting property on Prince Alfred Parade for $14.25 million to Annie Cannon-Brookes – who recently separated from Atlassian co-founder husband Mike.
The Roberts have sold this Newport beachfront (top and below left) to Chris and Julieann Boffa. Below right: The Newport house sold by the Boffas to Annie Cannon-Brookes.
Cannon-Brookes’ 3000-square-metre purchase expands her Newport footprint, given she already owned the house next door purchased for $24.5 million in 2020.
McGrath has been the agent of choice across all three deals, further connecting the sales, given Frank and Jan’s daughter is fashion designer Jodie Boffa-McGrath, who is married to Deloitte Australia chief marketing officer Matt McGrath, who happens to be the brother of real estate heavyweight John.
McGrath Pittwater agents James Baker and Adrian Venturi co-ordinated all three deals, but declined to comment on the sales and their interconnected vendors.
Meanwhile, in a (so-far) unrelated Palm Beach sale, chief investment officer at Watermark Funds Management Justin Braitling and wife Silke Raetze have offloaded their Pittwater waterfront home for about $6 million.
Watermark Funds Management CIO Justin Braitling has sold his Pittwater home for about $6 million. Ben Rushton
The sale comes less than a year after the former Bankers Trust operative paid $5.6 million for the Barrenjoey Road holiday home in September last year. The three-bedroom property, which sits on a 771-square-metre waterfront block with postcard views across Pittwater, exits the Braitling-Raetze portfolio, which includes their Vaucluse trophy home on blue-chip Coolong Road.
Selling agent LJ Hooker’s BJ Edwards declined to comment on the deal.
Meanwhile, neighbouring Whale Beach has clocked a suburb record, following the circa $14.4 million sale of the luxury hillside property owned by BT’s former head of equities Mike Crivelli and his wife Susan.
The sale of the Crivelli digs eclipses the previous record of $14.125 million, set last year when early childcare entrepreneur Matt McLellan, a former partner at Ironbridge, and his partner Rosemary Armstrong bought venture capitalist John Grant’s Malo Road abode.
Mark Crivelli has sold his luxury property for a Whale Beach suburb high.
The three-level, lift-connected property comes with a steam room and lap pool.
Crivelli’s property, dubbed Garrawilla, has sold to an unidentified buyer, who is set to enjoy heated floors, a walk in ocean-facing 10-person steam room and expansive ocean views beyond a heated 16-metre lap pool along with a protected courtyard and fire pit.
The three-level, lift-connected property was designed by the Crivellis alongside architecture firm Tobias Partners in 2013.
The property sold through LJ Hooker Palm Beach’s David and BJ Edwards who confirmed the new suburb record, but declined to comment further.
Across the border to the Queensland capital, where Paul Scurrah and his wife, recently departed Sayers Group partner Nicole, have listed their designer 1890-built Ascot Queenslander, Wellington.
The Melbourne-raised, Harvard-educated Scurrah and his family have decamped south to Sydney following his 2021 appointment as CEO of Pacific National – the country’s largest private rail operator – following his resignation from Virgin in 2020.
Paul and Nicole Scurrah have listed their luxury Queenslander in Brisbane’s Ascot. The Ascot property comes with a pool, tennis court and wine room. Louie Douvis
The 1620-square-metre corner block in Brisbane’s blue-chip Ascot is spread across four titles and comes with a pool, magnesium spa and tennis court. Designed by architect Shaun Lockyer, the five-bedroom luxury home features a media room, two informal living rooms, gym and a 495-bottle, temperature-controlled wine room. The property last traded for $2.75 million in 2010.
It has previously been reported the Scurrahs are using their existing Surry Hills apartment as their Sydney base, which they own in addition to a cabin in Whistler in the US.
While the property has been listed sans guide, local sources indicate the luxury home would likely crack double digits and land north of $10 million. Selling agent Drew Davies, of Place agency, could not be reached for comment.
Luxury farm Corumbene – which comes complete with Victoria’s only privately owned gorge – has sold to a Melbourne family at the upper range of its $6 million to $6.6 million guide.
Karen and Martin O’Sullivan have sold their family farm outside Melbourne. The property comes with five-bedroom farmhouse, pool, tennis court and sauna. Barfold Gorge in the Macedon Ranges cuts through lava flows which date back 6 million years. Mitch Nivalis
Located outside Kyneton (about an hour’s drive from Melbourne), the 202-hectare farm’s drawcard feature is the dramatic natural landform. At 100 metres wide and 80 metres deep, Barfold Gorge is home to soaring basalt columns dating back millions of years, and two waterfalls, amphitheatre and lava cave.
In a recent interview with The Australian Financial Review, vendors former Channel 7 reporter Karen O’Sullivan and farmer husband Martin – who raised their four boys on the property – described the gorge as “nature’s masterpiece” akin to a piece of Kakadu outside Melbourne.
Natural phenomena aside, the luxury farm also features a five-bedroom farmhouse complete with pool, tennis court and sauna.
Selling agents Forbes’ Robert Fletcher, who listed the property alongside Tracey Atkins, said it garnered strong interest, selling before the close of the expressions of interest campaign.
“Whilst the imagery created was incredible, the reality of seeing it far surpasses expectations,” Mr Fletcher said.
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