Harold Mitchell celebrates $49m office windfall

Asked what he plans to do with a $49 million profit from an office block sale, media mogul Harold Mitchell says: ‘Not much.’

Harold Mitchell: ‘I am happy to be me.’ Picture: Aaron Francis

Asked what he plans to do with the $49 million he pocketed last night from the sale of his swish South Melbourne office block, media mogul Harold Mitchell said: “Not much.”

“I am happy to be me. I am going to the gala opening concert of the New York Philharmonic next week and I am happy I have kept my weight down and all I am interested in is the future,” said the 76-year-old Free TV chairman.

“I have had a tremendous life.”

Mr Mitchell estimates the office block cost him $28m to develop in 2010, while his West Australian property, which he co-owned and recently sold for $72m, cost him about $20m.

“I was happy to sell the cattle property and you should leave something for the next owner and I did that with the cattle property,” he said.

Mr Mitchell would not be drawn on the buyer’s identity for the 5101sq m 105 York Street, South Melbourne office block, which is leased to Japanese advertising group Dentsu Aegis until 2020.

Listed in June, it was initially expected to reap $45m. Despite tightening funding conditions, the sale broke the suburb’s record, selling for $9600 per square metre. “It was a great-value building, built the best you could do, and it’s got growth left in it.”

Sources close to the deal said the buyer was a local private ­investor.

Several private and institutional players competed for the building, while Dentsu Aegis, which bought Mitchell Communication Group in 2010, has an option to extend its lease.

Five agents negotiated the deal: CBRE’s Kiran Pillai, Mark Wizel, Lewis Tong, Josh Rutman and JACX property group boss Michael Jackson.