Ex-Westpac chief Brian Hartzer slips Vaucluse house off market amid expectations it has sold

Former Westpac boss Brian Hartzer and his wife Georgiana withdrew their Vaucluse mansion from the market on Thursday amid widespread expectations it has sold.

The architect Michael Dysart-designed statement home was listed early this year with initial $20 million hopes just a couple of months after Hartzer departed the bank in the wake of a money laundering scandal.

The guide was revised to $18 million in February by Pillinger’s Brad Pillinger, but sources say it is not expected to have achieved the revised guide.

When approached about the sale Pillinger said it was withdrawn because “it got too difficult to show under current COVID-19 protocols”, however multiple parties were given a last opportunity to make a counter offer on the property late last week, suggesting that it has sold.

An independent source came forward on Thursday to say it had sold.

The Hartzers are currently bunkered down at their Pittwater holiday house they bought last year at McCarrs Creek for $6.8 million.

Their striking Vaucluse residence last traded in 2014 – a year before Hartzer was promoted from the bank’s ranks of senior executive to the top job – for $12.75 million.

The three-level residence was previously owned by ISS Asia-Pacific chief executive Dane Hudson, who commissioned it following his purchase in 2003 for $5.25 million.

The couple are expected to buy a downsized Sydney pad.

Hartzer is currently on gardening leave for 12 months after he resigned as chief executive of the bank last November with a $2.69 million payout.

His resignation followed allegations by financial intelligence agency Austrac that the bank had breached anti-money laundering and counter-terror finance laws across more than $11 billion transactions, including some that were used to facilitate child sexual exploitation.

Westpac’s former chief financial officer Peter King was confirmed as Hartzer’s replacement on Thursday morning.