Billionaire pays about $20m for second pad in Crown Towers Sydney

Techie billionaire Robin Khuda and his wife Melea have bought another pad in Barangaroo’s Crown Towers for between $20 million to $21 million, local sources say, in the latest addition to their burgeoning multimillion-dollar property portfolio.

The luxury three-bedroom, four-bathroom unit on one of the highest levels of the building takes the value of the couple’s residential real estate assets, which are dotted mostly north of the bridge, to more than $90 million.

With commanding trophy northern aspect views of the harbour and Meyer Davis design, the 235-square-metre home oozes Manhattan luxury in the middle of Sydney’s CBD.

Robin, who is the founder and chief executive of data centre business AirTrunk, and his wife emerged as the buyers after lodging a caveat through a company of which they are both directors. It sold through Tasman Fallshaw of City Living, who declined to comment when contacted.

It seems to be an upgrade for the couple, as they are selling a smaller unit on a lower floor with a price guide of $11.5 million through Monika Tu of Black Diamondz Property Concierge. The Khudas purchased that two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit for $10.7 million in 2021.

Listed at number 109 on The Australian Financial Review’s Rich List, Robin has an estimated wealth of $1.5 billion, which increased 36.3 per cent last year as he still owns 12 per cent of AirTrunk.

The purchase of the luxury apartment in the Crown Residences comes after Robin’s billionaire status was cemented at the end of last year when the world’s largest alternative asset manager Blackstone, which also owns Crown Resorts, purchased AirTrunk to the tune of $24 billion – the largest data-centre deal globally and largest corporate transaction in Australia in 2024.

The Khudas purchased the home from Carole Meers, the wife of former Sydney lord mayor, philanthropist and pub investor Nelson Meers AO, who passed away in 2022. The couple purchased the property off the plan for $17.5 million.

Alongside his business success, Robin is also dabbling in high-end developments, including the redevelopment of a series of luxury apartments next door to local heritage landmark Barrenjoey House, which he and his wife bought for $6 million in 2020.

Meanwhile, the sold sticker has gone up on another luxury apartment in the Crown Residences, this time the two-bedroom, two-bathroom property of Ben Tilley, once right-hand man of James Packer. While Monika Tu of Black Diamondz Property Concierge declined to comment when contacted, the last price guide on the luxury apartment was $11 million, so one can only assume Tilley received an offer around that to be happy to sell. He purchased it for $8.9 million in 2021.

From pots and pans to property

Victoria’s Basement co-founder Dan Kalanderian is offloading another investment property, this time in East Lindfield with a price guide of $9.1 million to $10 million.

The exquisite Matthew Carlisle-designed house is a newly built five-bedroom, four-bathroom home that has Calacatta Breccia marble benches, a curved oak staircase and hand-selected white Sydney sandstone walls. It is selling through Glenn Curran of The Agency North.

Originally part of Kalderian’s property, which he purchased for $1.415 million in 1996, the 1160-square-metre block was subdivided and was redeveloped.

It’s not his first rodeo either. Dan, who co-founded the popular kitchenware retailer with his brother Sam, has another property investment on the market in Seaforth. The Corben Architects-designed waterfront, which the brothers own together under a company of which they are both directors, has a price guide of $9.5 million. That is being sold through Michael Coombs of Atlas Lower North Shore.

Sport exec’s $6 million downsize pay day

Long-running sports administrator Brian Thorburn and his wife Ally have sold their Hamptons-style family home in Lane Cove for close to $6 million, local sources say.

Not a bad result for the Thorburns, given they were downsizing from their four-bedroom, four-bathroom house, which they bought for $1.84 million in 2018 and had a price guide of $5 million.

Brian has had an illustrious career in sports, serving in a range of highly ranked jobs. He served as chief executive of PGA of Australia for a number of years, secretary of Ruby Australia and as the Fijian Drua’s chief executive.

Perhaps most notably, he was a former board member of Prince Harry’s Invictus Games in Australia from 2016 to 2018.

The home sold through Sam Lloyd of McGrath Lane Cove, who declined to comment.