McGrath chief executive Geoff Lucas buys half a Palladian villa in Bellevue Hill

McGrath chief executive Geoff Lucas buys half a Palladian villa in Bellevue Hill
Title TattleDecember 7, 2020

McGrath chief executive Geoff Lucas has bought in Bellevue Hill securing half a Palladian villa.

The Victoria Road duplex was bought after being passed in at auction at $5.825 million. There has been no sale price reveal yet among the increasingly-garrulous, but so-called tight lipped eastern suburb agents and buyers' agent.

The four-bedroom, three-bathroom Mediterranean-style mansion (above and below) was built in 1992 on its 725 sqm block with views over Royal Sydney Golf Course to the harbour and the ocean. 

The Briggs family had bought it for $3.525 million in 2002.

The property comes with pool and tennis court, which is shared with the neighbour.

McGrath chief executive Geoff Lucas buys half a Palladian villa in Bellevue Hill

Not sure what the arrangement is but when ad man Michael Ball and wife Daria owned it in the mid-1990s, they played tennis on odd days of the month, with the plastic surgeon Ted Gibson and wife Barbie playing on the even days when they owned the southern half of the Lucienne de Mestre-designed villa. 

It was offered through Steven Zellner of L&S Double Bay who has been involved in its first sale in 1995 at $2.1 million.

It was listed for Sothebys auction in April last year with overly ambitious $7 million to $7.5 million price guidance.

McGrath chief executive Geoff Lucas buys half a Palladian villa in Bellevue Hill

Lucas will relist his Wonga Road, Cremorne property, which he owns with wife Nicola.

It struggled to sell when listed for the now departed McGrath agents Adrian Bridges and Michael Coombs.

It was listed with $6 million to $6.6 million hopes.

Lucas paid $3,425,000 for the home in 2005, snapping it up pre-auction after just 12 days.

He owns 1/100th and wife, Nicola the 99/100ths.

Lucas returned to the ASX listed company in February last year as its chief executive.

He had left his role as McGrath Ltd chief operating officer in 2016 to briefly take a job at the NSW bread maker and café group, Sonoma after being at the estate agency for almost eight years.

Lucas had a 4.3 percent shareholding in the McGrath Group on his departure, with the 5.7 million shares then sold, according to the 2018 annual report.

On his return the McGrath shareholders were advised Lucas was entitled to a total fixed annual base salary of $500,000 (inclusive of statutory superannuation).

Lucas was also eligible to participate in McGrath's short term incentive plan, up to 50 percent of base salary per annum, subject to the satisfaction of key performance indicators.

Lucas was to be eligible for securities valued at up to 50 percent of base salary per annum pursuant to a new McGrath Equity Incentive Plan being developed by the company, which is likely to include vesting over a three year period and financial targets, subject to Lucas' continuing employment with McGrath during the period.

His employment contract includes a restraint of trade period of 18 months preventing him from competing with McGrath should he leave again.

The board granted 2,500,000 share options to Lucas as part of the CEO LTI Program in May 2018. The options have a grant date fair value of $0.092 per option.

The shares are trading at 24 cents.

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