Ex-Metcash boss Ian Morrice scores more than $15m on Lavender Bay home in four days

The Lavender Bay home of  former Metcash chief executive Ian Morrice and his interior designer wife Linda has sold after all of four days and despite carrying  a guide of $15 million to $16 million.

The sale comes as the north shore’s harbourside market enjoys a run of record-breaking sales in the past year thanks to strong demand from north shore downsizers and a limited number of prestige homes on offer for sale, including the $21 million apartment record set earlier this year when Rugby Australia’s board member Peter Wiggs settled on his off-the-plan purchase in McMahons Point.

The Morrices’ four-level residence is one of two adjoining houses on Bay View Street designed by Saville Isaacs architecture firm on behalf of the Morrices after they bought the site in 2014 from lawyer John Lattin and his wife Helen.

The striking residences, dubbed the Twin Houses, are residential landmarks in Lavender Bay thanks to the distinctive curved facade of the corner residence and a contemporary design using sandstone and concrete materials which makes it look like it is one property.

The smaller residence next door was sold last year for $11 million to dentist Christopher Ho and his wife Melanie, amid plans at the time to retain the larger house as their own home.

Morrice, who stepped down as head of Australia’s largest wholesaler in 2017, has recently moved to New Zealand, where he was previously group chief executive for New Zealand’s largest listed retailer The Warehouse until 2011.

Michael Coombs, of LJ Hooker Avnu, was unavailable for comment as this story was published, but listed the Morrices’ second residence last Friday, offering a guide of $15 million to $16 million at the time.

Local sources said on Tuesday it had sold and, given the turnaround on the deal, it is expected to have sold at the upper end of the range.

The result is expected to be among the top sales in Lavender Bay but less than the record $16.988 million paid last year for the house a few doors down the street by the rich list founders of multinational vitamin company Nature’s Care, Jina Chen and her husband Alex Wu, after just three weeks on the market.

The previous Lavender Bay record was $16.28 million set in 2017 for a waterfront apartment built originally for Lang Walker’s dad Alex Walker when it was sold by Cassandra Nicholls, widow of J&B Records’ Brian Nicholls.

Earlier this year, thoroughbred horse owner Fergus Doyle bought the Lavender Bay duplex of entrepreneur Joseph Chou and his wife Suzanne Ho for $11 million.

In June, tech entrepreneur Robin Khuda bought the McMahons Point apartment of former New Zealand prime minister Sir John Key and his wife Lady Bronagh for $6.1 million, just a few months after the Keys settled on it for $5.7 million.