Barangaroo penthouse listed by hedge fund manager

Barangaroo penthouse listed by hedge fund manager
Jonathan ChancellorDecember 7, 2020

Sydney’s waterfront Barangaroo complex penthouse has been listed by high-profile Swiss hedge fund manager Ben Melkman.

It is the luxury two-level penthouse he purchased at the Andara complex two years ago.

The Geneva-based Melkman, a senior trader and partner at Brevan Howard Investment Products, is selling the penthouse he purchased for $10.5 million because he is spending so little time in Sydney, McGrath marketing agent Hamish Robertson says.

In a rare test of appetite for ultra-luxury apartments, the two-level contemporary-style penthouse at 15 Barangaroo Avenue, which has never been occupied, is expected to fetch well above what Melkman paid, Robertson says. The four-bedroom, four-bathroom penthouse sports 270sq m of internal space plus a 290sq m terrace. It has a three-car lockup garage and occupies levels nine and 10 of the Andara complex in Barangaroo South, overlooking Darling Harbour. Interiors are by Burley Katon Halliday.

Robertson expects a mix of buyers to show interest in the penthouse, which was developed by Lend Lease, and has no common walls. The Anadara complex has 82 apartments including the two-level penthouse known as The Cloud.

When the smaller apartments were first put to the market several years ago 60sq m units were priced at about $1m, 100sq m two-bedroom flats were about $2m and the three-bedders starting at 130sq m were priced at about $3m.

The penthouse’s Calacatta-marble kitchen features Miele and Liebherr appliances from Germany and Switzerland respectively.

Almost 50 owners at Barangaroo have so far pocketed about $1m each in pre-tax profits by reselling apartments at the popular waterfront development.

The selling agents say infrastructure including parklands, restaurants and cafes have significantly increased around Barangaroo during the past two years.

Lend Lease is due to develop at least another 800 apartments in the Barangaroo precinct.

Robertson is marketing the penthouse in conjunction with LJ Hooker Double Bay licensee Bill Malouf via an expressions of interest campaign closing May 25.

Jonathan Chancellor

Jonathan Chancellor is one of Australia's most respected property journalists, having been at the top of the game since the early 1980s. Jonathan co-founded the property industry website Property Observer and has written for national and international publications.

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