No profit as Palmer sells waterfront home

Clive Palmer has sold a mansion to a man he says ­organised finance for a failed rescue bid for Queensland Nickel.

Clive Palmer sold his mansion at Paradise Point on the Gold Coast

Clive Palmer swiftly offloaded a Gold Coast waterfront mansion to a company controlled by Domenic Martino, who Mr Palmer says ­organised $23 million in conditional ­finance for a failed rescue bid for Queensland Nickel.

Property records show Mr Palmer sold the five-bedroom, five-bathroom house at 97 The Sovereign Mile in the prestigious suburb of Paradise Point to Sovereign Paradise Pty Ltd on September 13 for $1.75m, the exact amount Mr Palmer bought the house for five years earlier.

Sovereign Paradise was registered with the corporate watchdog just four days earlier, with the temporary director and secretary ­listed as Philip Silva. However, on October 4, Mr Martino was ­installed as sole director, secretary and shareholder of the company.

Mr Palmer has previously given evidence in court that Mr Martino — a former Deloitte chief executive — helped arrange a $23m line of credit with Sydney-based non-bank financier Chifley Securities in March. The finance was part of a failed bid by Mr ­Palmer to keep his Townsville ­refinery company Queensland Nickel afloat, after it was placed into ­administration.

Mr Martino told The Weekend Australian yesterday that the purchase of Mr Palmer’s house and his work on the conditional loan had nothing to do with each other.

“Nothing whatsoever,” Mr Martino said. “It’s just a private transaction.”

When asked whether he had got a bargain on the purchase, Mr Martino disagreed.

“I can tell you I had a bank valuation and that’s what they said it was worth,’’ he said.

Queensland Nickel collapsed into liquidation under $300m worth of debts in April. Nearly 800 workers lost their jobs, and two sets of liquidators are trying to claw back cash for creditors. Mr Palmer is expected to again be called to testify in court.

The former federal MP failed in a recent High Court bid to have public examinations declared unconstitutional, and is likely to be hit with hefty legal fees and court costs from the unsuccessful bid.

Counsel instructed by liquidator FTI Consulting is expected to ask Mr Palmer to outline his personal assets and wealth at a public examination. At an earlier hearing before the Federal Court, Mr Palmer was asked but refused to outline the balance of his domestic and offshore bank accounts.

The founder of the Palmer United Party denies all wrong­doing in the collapse of Queensland Nickel, whose sole director at the time was his nephew Clive Mensink. Mr Palmer is a former director of the company, and is the ultimate owner of the entity, and its joint venture parent companies.

He did not respond to requests for comment.

Chunks of Mr Palmer and his family’s property empire are up for sale, including his Mineralogy House corporate headquarters in Brisbane, two Gold Coast properties and residential properties ­belonging to his son Michael.

The Chinese Xinhua news agency reported this week that work on full-size Titanic replica had begun, on the orders of the Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Group. Mr Palmer unveiled similar plans in 2013, but the ship has not been built.