The six-bedroom, six-bathroom house with views of the Spit was acquired from financial services executive Donald Sharp and his wife Yunxia Tong, who had purchased the 784-square-metre block for $8 million in 2021 according to Domain.
The sale was handled by Bo Zhang of Atlas Lower North Shore.
This purchase marks Lane’s return to his home turf, having been born and raised in Manly.
Industry experts anticipate he will transform the property in a similar style to the stunning homes he and his wife Emma Lane have developed for their luxury accommodation portfolio, The Range Estates.
The Clontarf acquisition is part of a significant spending spree by the Lanes, who have invested more than $24 million in northern beaches properties over the past six months. Earlier this year, Tom purchased a newly built Manly duplex for $5.3 million in cash, while Emma acquired a Manly penthouse for $8.5 million late last year.
Lane, 53, comes from a prestigious retail lineage as the grandson of Boyd Lane, who founded the Oroton fashion empire in 1938, establishing what would become Australia’s oldest luxury fashion company.
The company faced challenges in 2017 when it entered voluntary administration before being purchased by billionaire Will Vicars, who reinstated it as a private company.
The Clontarf purchase follows the record-breaking sale of the Lanes’ luxury equine estate, Copperstone, which sold for approximately $30 million last week. This sale not only set a Bangalow record but ranks among the highest in the Byron region.
Real estate agent Kim Jones, who handled the Copperstone sale, has established multiple records in the region, including the North Coast high of $33.65 million for the Lanes’ property called The Range in Coopers Shoot.
Based on the Lanes’ track record of property development, the Clontarf property is expected to undergo a significant transformation that could substantially increase its value.
Their previous developments have shown remarkable appreciation after renovation.
In other high-end property news, philanthropist Isaac Wakil has listed his long-time Vaucluse home for the first time in 66 years.
The 1400-square-metre parcel represents the last of the Wakils’ once extensive property portfolio.
While no official price guide has been set for the five-bedroom, five-bathroom house purchased for £17,000 in 1959, Ray White Double Bay agent Riki Tawhara reports serious interest above $50 million.
“We’ve already had a number of calls from potential purchasers who have indicated they have been waiting for this property to come to market for years,” Mr Tawhara told Domain.
The Wakils, who fled from Iraq and Bessarabia (now Moldova and Romania), built their fortune in the clothing industry before investing in property in the 1970s.
Their foundation has made significant philanthropic contributions, including $24 million to the Art Gallery of NSW and $66 million to the University of Sydney.
“If the calibre of the Lanes’ previous property redevelopment and their uptick in value is anything to go by, Tom’s Clontarf block is in line for a serious glow up and with it a healthy capital gain once the redevelopment is done and dusted,” said a property market analyst familiar with the Lanes’ development history.
