Ex-Rubicon director Matthew Cooper lists landmark Tamarama home for $15m-plus

A striking designer residence set in prime position on the Tamarama Headland fronting the oceanfront park and with uninterrupted views of the Pacific Ocean hit the market on Friday morning amid speculation it could challenge the suburb record.

Whether the aptly named Headland House manages to set a new benchmark or not will come down to not only the bricks and mortar on offer, but also the strength of the current market compared with that of last year when the suburb high was set by a beachside house that sold for $15.75 million to Karen Michael, daughter of the late property mogul David Burger.

But for corporate watchers, one of the more intriguing details to the architect Madeleine Blanchfield-designed residence is that it is owned by corporate advisor Matthew Cooper, best known in the days before the Global Financial Crisis as a former director and part-owner of the real estate investment trust empire Rubicon Group.

Rubicon was founded by corporate high-flyers Gordon Fell and the late David Coe, who were on the board of Allco Finance when in late 2007 it bought 80 per cent of the shares in Rubicon that it did not own already for $263 million.

The deal valued the business at $331 million, which delivered Fell $35 million in cash, Coe $15.9 million and Cooper $11.87 million, but ultimately was pinned with playing a major part in the collapse of Allco the following year with $1.1 billion in debt, making it one of the largest corporate implosions in Australian history.

At the time Cooper already owned the Tamarama house, having purchased what was previously a Californian bungalow for $780,000 in 1998.

The dramatic rebuild of the property was approved by council in 2016 at a cost of $1 million and resulted in a three-level residence with panoramic views from the open-plan living and dining areas, and four bedrooms above, and a floor plan that includes a triple garage, home cinema, gymnasium and wine cellar.

Brad Pillinger, of Pillinger, declined to offer details on the listing, or owner, leaving it to local industry sources to speculate on the price hopes, tipped to be at more than $15 million.

Cooper’s selling plans follow fellow Rubicon executive Fell’s sale of his Point Piper trophy home Routala, exchanged in late 2018 for more than $50 million and set to settle in coming months to Bloch International owner David Fox.

There is no mention of Cooper’s time at Rubicon on his LinkedIn page, which instead points to his current role as managing director at private equity outfit Otaki Capital and at boutique corporate advisory Decision Point Advisory.