Michael Gu’s wheels keep turning

Local agents are clamouring to snare the listing for Michael Gu’s seemingly abandoned $10m Mosman mansion.

Michael Gu’s mansion in Mosman.

As unopened utility bills and marketing leaflets pile up in the letterbox of Michael Gu’s seemingly abandoned $10m Mosman mansion, local agents are clamouring to snare the Superba Parade listing. Gu, the founder of the collapsed property group iProsperity, paid $10m for the four-bedroom mansion on 510sq m back in 2017, no doubt attracted by the near-new mansion’s stunning Middle Harbour views. Gu has since shifted overseas owing investors an alleged $350m. Meanwhile, iProsperity’s liquidator, Cor Cordis, is understood to have sold Gu’s Rolls Royce Wraith to help recoup investor funds on Monday night, with a purchaser forking out $502,000 for the vehicle which had been valued as high as $700,000. The Rolls was apparently used by Gu, a former telco salesman, to chauffeur very wealthy investors and featured a lavish mandarin-coloured leather interior. It is equipped with the deluxe “Wraith Package” including a driver assistance pack with night vision and pedestrian recognition, RR-embossed leather interior, and lambswool foot mats. Gu did not spend much time behind the wheel with the Rolls Royce’s odometer revealing just 1039km on the clock. It features a 6.6 litre direct injection twin turbo engine. Cor Cordis said the liquidators were continuing with their investigations and reviewing other realisable assets including property.

The Rolls Royce Wraith fetched $502,000.

Hopkins seeks al dente home

Latina Fresh Pasta former co-owner Fraser Hopkins has lodged plans with Woollahra Council to redevelop his 1880s Victorian-style mansion in Trelawney Street in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. Hopkins, now a business investor, bought the dilapidated six-bedroom Woollahra mansion last year for $9.1m. Architects from Leech Harmon are designing a new two-level addition with an in-ground pool and landscaping. Locals reckon Hopkins will have to spend at least a couple of million dollars renovating Woollahra. Hopkins previously owned a large waterfront on Barrenjoey Road, Palm Beach, which he sold to retired bookie Bob Blann for $11.97m in 2009. More recently Blann paid $40m-plus for the 61st floor in One Barangaroo last year in one of the largest apartment purchases in the tower to date.

Sandstone among the trees

Professional sports coach Tony Naar and his wife Susan are selling their Riverview house, on Sydney’s Lower North Shore, with price expectations of about $2.85m. The Hamilton Street property was built from sandstone gleaned from nearby residences and was renovated by Tribe Studio and Simpson Wilson Architects. The Naars are relocating to Tasmania and have listed the property through Simon Harrison of Belle Property Lane Cove. Developed in a rainforest setting, the five-bedroom house sports a steel staircase and 1000-bottle wine cellar. It includes Will Dangar-designed gardens and a parents’ wing. It will be auctioned on September 19.