Sanjeev Gupta’s $10m Sydney mansion Bomera makeover is a go as Whyalla’s hopes fade

Entrepreneur Sanjeev Gupta has been celebrating a Sydney harbourside mansion upgrade while his Whyalla steelworks flounders. See inside the palatial home.

Steel baron Sanjeev Gupta pictured in 2017 at his Bellevue Hill property in Sydney's east. Picture: John Feder/The Australian.

Sanjeev Gupta has won a battle to upgrade his Sydney harbourside mansion – to include whisky and yoga rooms plus a cinema – while Whyalla steelworks contractors sweat on tens of millions of dollars in unpaid debts.

With the steelworks blast furnace shut down over Christmas, Mr Gupta and wife Nicola received an early present with news they had won a legal battle to renovate their grand clifftop Potts Point mansion Bomera, which overlooks the harbour.

A court judgment ruled their upgrade could proceed after amendments presented by Mr Gupta were presented at a conciliation conference.

The original ambitious plans, which included a basement garage with a Batman and Robin-style vehicle access tunnel via Cowper Wharf Rd, were costed at $10.04m. His less controversial plans included a covered pool, a sauna, spa, yoga room, cinema and even a whisky room.

Sanjeev Gupta’s home, Bomera, at Potts Point in Sydney. Picture: Supplied

Bomera at Potts Point

Inside the grand Sydney mansion.

Sanjeev Gupta has won the right to renovate the property.

Mr Gupta bought the grand Italianate mansion in 2019 for about $34m, when it was described as an eight-bedroom, five bathroom sandstone home on a huge 2308 sqm block.

There were grand halls with marble floors, plus a ballroom overlooking Woolloomooloo Bay, landscaped gardens and a swimming pool.

Bomera was built in 1856 by architect John Frederick Hilly for the colonial merchant William McQuade.

Earlier in 2024, the Guptas spent $12.5m on an apartment at the nearby Woolloomooloo Finger Wharf.

The apartment was bought from retired broadcaster John Laws, along with another $1m spent on a marina berth, because Mr Gupta reportedly was bringing his yacht from Europe.

Before moving to Potts Point, Mr Gupta was said to be renting a home in nearby Bellevue Hill for $30,000 per week.

The view.

The property is in one of the most exclusive parts of Sydney.

When the Whyalla blast furnace resumed operations in early January, Mr Gupta insisted “we have deployed our best resources to rescue Whyalla”.

“I am pleased to see the first real sign of progress towards our goal to return the plant to full production and then back to black,” he said in early January.

“This is nothing less than a Herculean undertaking, steel plants of this vintage don’t do well being shut for 4 months. I commend our team for their dedication and perseverance despite ongoing headwinds and challenges.”

Mr Gupta also owns an $80m home in London’s Belgrave Square and a four-bedroom house at Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah.

The latter is on a man-made island shaped like a palm and considered one of the most sought-after areas of Dubai.

In 2021, Mr Gupta declared the Belgravia house, where real estate is among the world’s priciest, where he wanted to “basically settle down” in a family home.

At the time, he addressed reports that he and wife Nicola had received development approval to refurbish that mansion.

It was reported that the house had been bought in Nicola’s name in 2020, with a mortgage registered to Barclays in Switzerland.

Originally published as Sanjeev Gupta’s $10m Sydney mansion Bomera makeover is a go as Whyalla’s hopes fade