Top chef Andrew McConnell and Jo McGann sell $20m+ Toorak mansion in high speed deal
High profile Melbourne restaurateurs Andrew McConnell and Jo McGann have sold their luxe Toorak mansion for a super price, in less time than it takes to prepare a menu in their fancy eateries.
Melbourne restaurateurs Andrew McConnell and wife Joanna McGann have sold their $20m-plus Toorak mansion faster than it takes to prepare some meals at their prominent venues.
The pair are better known as the power couple behind eatery empire Trader and Co, which includes dining institutions from Supernormal and the Builders Arms Hotel to Cumulus Inc and high-end CBD speak-easy Gimlet.
Their Struan St home, which records show Ms McGann bought from former Australia Post boss Ahmed Fahour for $14.2m in 2018, appears to have sold in a matter of days, with suggestions it could have been as little as hours.
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Prominent buyer’s advocate David Morrell said he believed a buyer had made an offer after their first inspection in a sale that was “faster than a minute on the microwave” — and likely the suburb’s fastest of the year for a home priced above $20m.
“It’s been really renovated and was ready to go, and people say ‘yes please’ to that,” Mr Morrell said.
“But it does go to show there’s an appetite there if something is right.”
A three-day cooling off period applies before the sale is considered complete.
By contrast, steaks produced by Trader & Co’s butcher business Meatsmith can be dry-aged for as long as six weeks.
It’s the second fast transaction involving the pair in Toorak’s top end this year.
They were also revealed as the buyers of a richlist Liberman family member’s $15.9m-$17m home in May, a deal that was done in the space of a few weeks — despite many homes in that price range lingering on the market for months at a time.
After hitting the market with a $20m-$22m price guide earlier this month, their Struan St address was listed as under contract within a matter of days by Marshall White’s Marcus Chiminello.
The striking art deco mansion spans three levels, includes a billiards room, guest suite, home cinema, gym and multiple living areas across its six-bedroom floorplan.
Surrounded by a designer garden and pool deck, the house is on a 1910sq m block in a pocket of the suburb that’s also home to some of the Melbourne business world’s biggest names, including Solomon Lew and John Gandel.
In May, the culinary couple bought a nearby, Robin Boyd-designed residence from Karen Liberman — whose family is among the city’s wealthiest.
Strikingly updated by contemporary architect Stephen Jolson, the 1377sq m address is tree-lined and decked out with all the pool, gym and other accoutrements expected for a home advertised for $15.9m-$17m.
McGann and McConnell should be right at home in their new residence, with the entertainer’s address including a teppanyaki terrace, climate-controlled wine cellar and a cocktail cabinet in the sitting room.
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Originally published as Top chef Andrew McConnell and Jo McGann sell $20m+ Toorak mansion in high speed deal
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