Sydney’s trophy home market clocked up two of the year’s biggest deals on Tuesday night when Leo Lynch, of flower wholesaler Lynch Group, transacted on $130 million worth of home real estate.
Central to the double deal is the historic Federation estate Leura in Bellevue Hill, which was sold to Lynch for about $70 million by Chinese-Australian businessman Wilson Lee and his wife, Baoyu Wu – trading for more than double what they paid for it in 2015.
Bellevue Hill’s Federation mansion Leura sold for about $70 million on Tuesday night.Credit: Domain
The purchase coincided with Lynch’s sale of his own recently rebuilt home a few blocks away for $61.5 million.
Prestige agents were left stunned by the result for Lynch’s home on Wednesday, given it is set on about 1300 square metres. It topped the suburb high, previously held by the 5700-square-metre Rona estate that sold for $58 million in 2018 to Richard Scheinberg, of the wealthy cattle and property investment family.
Both sales are widely tipped to have been negotiated by Pillinger’s Brad Pillinger. However, Pillinger declined to comment when approached on Wednesday morning.
Leura was built in the 1890s in the Federation Queen Anne-style and previously owned by property developer Bill Shipton.Credit:
Lynch’s new home, Leura, is a grand 1890s-built mansion with eight bedrooms, eight bathrooms, a ballroom, tennis court and swimming pool, designed by government architect Walter Liberty Vernon and architect Howard Joseland in the Federation Queen Anne style.
It was previously owned by Christine and Ken Allen of the Business Promotional Products company, who purchased it in 1986 for $7.3 million from property developer Bill Shipton.
The Allens set a former Bellevue Hill high when they sold it to Wilson and Wu in late 2015 for $30.8 million.