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Mosman house price record smashed by Sydney Swans chairman’s $40m sale
By Lucy Macken
Mosman’s trophy home market has inched that bit closer to the lofty heights of the eastern suburbs after the Federation mansion of investment banker and Sydney Swans chairman Andrew Pridham sold on the quiet for about $40 million.
The exact sale price is yet to be revealed, but is hoped to give the local market a much-needed boost in the lead-up to spring, given a dearth of listings and sales locally.
Mosman’s historic Kia Lama mansion has sold for about $40 million, setting a new high for the suburb.Credit: Fairfax Media
The grand merchant mansion, long known as “Kia Lama”, last traded more than 25 years ago when sold by John and Patricia Gerahty for $6.05 million.
Kia Lama has long been held up as arguably one of Mosman’s finest residences by local agents. It is set on more than 2600 square metres and comes with a tennis court, swimming pool, gymnasium and, an independent source said, “sensational views across Mosman to the city”.
It was sold by Atlas’s Michael Coombs.
Andrew Pridham is the chairman of the Sydney Swans and founder of MA Financial Group.Credit: Eamon Gallagher
The Bradleys Head Road estate featured in Mary Drake’s book The Trees Were Green, given it was her childhood home.
Its most recent renovation was by Cadence & Co, the luxury home design and construction firm that built the Terrey Hills trophy estate Charlotte Park, which sold last year for $24.5 million to cricket golden couple Alyssa Healy and Mitchell Starc.
Pridham, who founded global asset manager MA Financial initially as an advisory firm with backing from US investment bank Moelis, is no stranger to Mosman’s house price records.
In 2018, Pridham set a high of $25 million, buying the harbourside mansion Hopetoun in Mosman’s “golden triangle” from businessman Wai Kong Lo.
Following Pridham’s purchase he was frequently approached to sell, but had been known to be consistently refusing access to would-be buyers. Until now.
Kai Lama sold on an extended settlement period, freeing Pridham to complete the current rebuild of Hopetoun ahead of his move.
The sale comes two years after the previous Mosman high was set at $33 million by prestige agent Richard Simeon, for what ended up being a knock-down rebuild on Balmoral slopes.
Mosman’s housing market has clocked up fewer than a dozen sales this month, including Kia Lama, making it one of the quietest winter months in about a decade.