Oroton heir spends $10m on Clontarf house – to redevelop it

Oroton fashion empire heir Tom Lane has returned to his home turf by splashing $10.25 million on a harbourview home in Clontarf.

The Manly born-and-bred Lane is tipped to redevelop the six-bedroom, six-bathroom house with breathtaking views of the Spit in a similar vein to the stunning homes he and Emma Lane have built over the years in their portfolio of luxury accommodation known as The Range Estates.

He purchased the home from financial services executive Donald Sharp and his wife Yunxia Tong who purchased the 784-square-metre block for $8 million in 2021.

The Clontarf home sold through Bo Zhang of Atlas Lower North Shore.

It is the latest purchase for the Lanes who have spent more than $24 million in the past six months on the northern beaches.

Earlier this year, Tom purchased a newly built duplex in Manly for $5.3 million in cash, while Emma also purchased in cash a Manly penthouse for $8.5 million late last year.

The 53-year-old is the grandson of Boyd Lane who founded the Oroton fashion empire in 1938, Australia’s oldest luxury fashion company.

The company entered voluntary administration in 2017 before it was purchased by billionaire Will Vicars who re-instated it as a private company.

Tom’s latest purchase comes hot off the heels of the record sale of Copperstone, which was struck by Kim Jones of Jones and Co last week at circa $30 million.

The luxury equine estate not only hit a Bangalow record but is among one of the all-time top sales in the Byron region. Selling agent Kim Jones, who is the daughter of real estate doyenne Di Jones, has struck multiple records since moving to the region, including holding the title of the North Coast high of $33.65 million for the Lanes’ The Range in Coopers Shoot.

If the calibre of the Lanes’ previous property redevelopment and their uptick in value is anything to go by, Tom’s Clontarf block is in line for a serious glow up and with it a healthy capital gain once the redevelopment is done and dusted.

Philanthropist lists long-time home

The long-time Vaucluse home of renowned philanthropist Isaac Wakil and his late wife Susan has hit the market for the first time in 66 years.

In what looks to be the last of the Wakils’ once multi-million dollar property portfolio, the 1400-square-metre parcel of land is also the last untouched double fronted lot of the grand estates in the neighbourhood complete with dual street access.

While there is no price guide yet on the tightly-held five-bedroom, five-bathroom house, which the Wakils purchased for £17,000 in 1959, selling agent Riki Tawhara of Ray White Double Bay said there is already serious interest above $50 million on the sought-after block.

“We’ve already had a number of calls from potential purchasers who have indicated they have been waiting for this property to come to market for years,” Tawhara said.

While the Wakils’ home is ripe for renovation, it could be one of the highest sales of the year given prominent corporate lawyer John Landerer and his wife Michelle sold their trophy home nearby for $62.75 million three years ago.

Isaac and Susan, who fled from Iraq and Bessarabia (now known as Moldova and Romania), respectively, made their fortune in the clothing industry then invested in property in the 1970s, much of it derelict buildings, including Surry Hills’ Griffiths Teas building. Pyrmont’s Terminus Hotel and the suburb’s former woolshed.

Their decision to sit on their property portfolio, including some buildings vacant since the 1970s until they began a sell-off in 2014, was controversial. But they sold much of their landholdings in Pyrmont for $200 million, which they used to set up The Susan and Isaac Wakil Foundation in 2014.

Over the years, the Foundation has gifted $24 million to the Art Gallery of NSW and $66 million to the University of Sydney, which included $35 million for the Susan Wakil Health Building and another $11 million for nursing scholarships. The couple were both appointed Officers of the Order of Australia in 2017.

Yamba to Vaucluse

Nearby, motel chain owners Gareth and Jane Mozley have sold their Vaucluse property north of the $10 million guide, local sources say.

The five-bedroom, two-bathroom house sold prior to auction through Alex Lyons of Raine & Horne Double Bay who declined to comment when contacted.

Set on 750 square metres, the Mozleys bought the property for $4 million in 2015.

Gareth, who is also the owner and chief executive of real estate services company Loyalty Street, and his wife Jane are directors of the retro-style Cubana Motels chain located across Ballina, Yamba and Nambucca Heads.