‘Aussie’ John Symond to hang onto Double Bay retail site
First he decided to keep the Point Piper house he’d had an offer of $100 million on, now ‘Aussie’ John Symond is set to retain the Double Bay retail site he listed with a $6.5 million guide in February.
“He drew a line in the sand,” 1st City Double Bay principal Brad Caldwell-Eyles says. “If he got an offer of seven-and-a-quarter million, he’d sell it.”
But despite several offers of up to $7 million, the offer with the magic number didn’t arrive for the building famous as the one-time home of Robyn Cosgrove Rugs, later fashion icon Trent Nathan and then Country Trader.
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Most recently the Alexander Tzannes-designed showroom with two-storey penthouse at 18 Transvaal Ave has been leased to Maree Conley who operates her Conley + Co furniture and interiors business there.
An aerial view of the Double Bay site.
It’s understood Symond has decided he has found a use for the site, though Caldwell-Eyles couldn’t be drawn what that might be.
The London-based Aussie Home Loans founder sold two of his redundant apartments in Elizabeth Bay mid last year.
Another view of the facade.
He moved to London with his wife, Amber, in 2017, and listed his Point Piper waterfront mansion for $100 million at the time.
But despite the offer of more than that figure, he withdrew it from sale because he felt he’d rushed into the decision.
John Symond poses for a portrait in Manhattan, New York, last November. Picture: Darren Ornitz.
Symond did sell his Point Piper penthouse, though, for $13.3 million.
He’d bought the Transvaal Ave site in 2014 for $4.8 million.
This article from the Wentworth Courier originally appeared as “‘Aussie’ John Symond decides to keep Double Bay site”.
