Sneaker moguls set to double their money on $18m Rose Bay pad

Co-founders of sneaker company Hype DC, Danny and Cindy Gilbert, have put their harbourfront Rose Bay pad on the market with a price guide of $18 million.

The couple are likely to more than double their money as they bought the three-bedroom, three-bathroom apartment off the plan for $7.85 million in 2016, unlike some sellers elsewhere in a handful of high-density neighbourhoods where growth has not been as strong.

A European holiday in 1998 inspired then-26-year-old sneaker fanatics Danny and Cindy to open their first store in Sydney upon their return, which they did in Mosman.

The same year they purchased the unit, Hype DC was bought for about $105 million by RCG Corporation. The deal was 15 months after RCG Corporation acquired shoe retailer and apparel group Accent Group Ltd for around $200 million.

Accent Group also owns Platypus, Skechers, Stylerunner and Glue. The ASX-listed company has a market capitalisation of $544.07 million. Danny and Cindy resigned in 2017.

The pair’s top-floor unit in a block of three occupies 254 square metres and offers 180-degree views to the Harbour Bridge, city skyline, North Sydney and Mosman.

A design by architects MHN Design Union includes an al fresco terrace, bar and butler’s pantry with icemaker and cool room, and a marble kitchen.

There are oak floors, expansive glass, designer lighting and remote-control curtains.

The abode is in the same triplex as Dancing with the Stars’ Kym Johnson and her husband, Robert Herjavec, of Shark Tank fame, who are also selling their apartment with a price guide of $19 million. They paid $13.5 million in 2021 for the three-bed unit.

Michael Pallier of Sydney Sotheby’s International Realty is accepting expressions of interest until Wednesday, February 25.

Embattled entrepreneur’s home sells

Also in Rose Bay, the home of bankrupt hospitality entrepreneur Jon Adgemis has sold for $11.62 million, settlement documents have revealed.

The new owners are construction industry players Adrian and Alessandro Sicari, who bought the property with funding from Zagga. Adrian is the founder of Ultra Building Co and has more than 25 years’ experience in the industry.

Adgemis, the Public Hospitality Group founder, purchased the six-bedroom, five-bathroom house with his mother, Rose, for $4.45 million in 2018.

Adgemis’ companies’ debts have ballooned to more than $1.8 billion, owing money to a suite of creditors and the tax office.

A long list of caveats had been lodged against the property, including by the chief commissioner of state revenue, who was chasing unpaid land tax to the tune of $255,796 for the state’s coffers, and an alcohol supplier that was owed a little over $1 million for unpaid booze supplied to his venues.

The abode occupies 556 square metres and comes with a designer kitchen, open-plan living zones, an alfresco entertainment area and pool.

The double-fronted block falls within the NSW government’s low and mid-rise housing reforms, allowing for unit blocks of up to six storeys if 15 per cent of the homes are affordable.

Fred Small and Steven Zoellner of Laing+Simmons Double Bay sold the property. It’s now advertised as a rental at $4500 per week.

Audio king sells mansion

Peter Freedman of audio equipment giant Rode Microphones has sold his Potts Point mansion, known as Jenner House, for a figure between $28 million and $30 million, local sources have revealed.

Freedman made number 135 spot on The Australian Financial Review’s Rich List 2025 with an estimated wealth of $1.23 billion.

A sold sticker on the listing indicates a sale by private treaty on December 11. The exact price and buyer’s identity will be revealed at settlement.

Listing agent Gavin Rubinstein of TRG declined to comment on any aspect of the sale.

Freedman purchased the 1870s-built, five-bedroom, four-bathroom abode for $30.35 million in 2023 from luxury car dealer Terry Mullens and his wife Wendy.

The property comes with DA approval for alterations and additions. There are multiple verandahs, terraces and a circular lawn with harbour glimpses.

Artist impressions reveal a grand three-storey, Great Gatsby-style residence with a circular driveway and a glass-encased sunroom with checkerboard floor.

Freedman bought the property after it sat on the market for almost two years, and probably would have paid a stamp duty bill of about $2 million. It was listed in spring 2021 by the Mullens family, when more than $30 million was suggested as a guide.

It went under the hammer in April 2023 but passed in at auction despite an offer of $33 million, with what one source suggested were protracted settlement terms.

The offer was double the $15 million in November 2009, when the home was sold by horse breeder Tony Peterson to the Mullens family. Peterson bought the already heritage-listed house from the Department of Defence in September 1998 for $2,275,000.

Freedman also owns a penthouse in Potts Point, purchased for $16 million in 2018, as well as a unit in the same building, bought for $8.2 million in 2023.

He recently sold another unit in the building, also through Rubinstein, for an undisclosed sum. However, local sources revealed it sold for just over $7 million.