Prominent car dealer Laurie Sutton sells Darling Point trophy home for $32 million

The Darling Point trophy home owned by prominent, retired car dealer Laurie Sutton has sold for $32 million, making it one of this year’s highest sales.

The bullish sale is hoped to offer a much-needed confidence boost to the market. Prestige agents have been battling a reticence to sell among high-end home owners this year as the pandemic impacts on economic markets, prompting a drastic shortfall in trophy homes available for sale.

Records show the architect Michael Dysart-designed residence on 1500 square metres has been bought by Pamela Lee, who corporate records reveals is the wife of John Borg, co-founder of melamine panel manufacturer Borg Constructions.

Sutton, the son of the late Suttons Motors founder Sir Frederick Sutton, listed the residence early last year for $35 million with Alison Coopes, of her eponymous agency, amid plans to downsize to Potts Point where he had recently bought the penthouse of the Villard building for $15.5 million from digital media boss Matthew Kapp and his wife Joanna.

However, Sutton withdrew his Darling Point home from the market soon after given plans to remain there, and the Villard penthouse was resold months later for $15.5 million to Domain chairman Nick Falloon.

Sutton has owned the Darling Point residence set behind harbourfront McKell Park since 2007. It set a then-suburb record of $18.5 million when he bought it from nightclub entrepreneur Barry Wain.

Wain had commissioned architect Michael Dysart to design the residence to a design inspired by Tokyo’s Imperial Palace following his purchase of the property in 2002 for $5.2 million.

Completed in 2006, the five-bedroom, seven-bathroom residence comes with formal and informal living areas, a main bedroom with his-and-hers dressing rooms, separate “nanny’s quarters”, a gymnasium, media room, second kitchen and a 10-car garage.

Sutton retains another Potts Point penthouse, which he purchased atop Rockwall Apartments in 2011 for $8.85 million from then-CBD Business Systems director Bill Smith. It was listed in 2019 with $12 million hopes before it was also withdrawn from the market.

The $32 million sale result matches that of the house next door sold in 2013 by the estate of the late industrialist William Tyree to yachtie Matt Allen. Mr Allen listed his waterfront residence in 2018 with $70 million hopes after an extensive renovation.

High-end sales have been scarce this year in the wake of the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In May the Elizabeth Bay trophy residence Berthong was revealed as having sold by Domain by lawyer Peter Ziegler and his wife Andrea. No sales price has yet been revealed but it long held a $35 million guide before it sold.

In June the Bellevue Hill home of Shay Lewis-Thorp, daughter of late property tycoon Bernard Lewis, sold for less than $30 million to next-door neighbour Louise Christie, the daughter of late businessman and property developer Neville Christie.