Latest news with #PaulLittle
News.com.au
28-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Myer family reveal ritzy new look for Toorak estate aiming to be Melbourne's second $100m home
The Myer family's sprawling, $100m Toorak estate Cranlana has been green-lit for an incredible renovation that could transform it into Melbourne's most prestigious home. The 62 Clendon Rd property is now approved for a new pool with a neighbouring wellness centre, several outbuildings an interior redesign and a striking tennis court zone in its expansive gardens. It remains the city's most expensive active property listing, after hitting the market in spring last year with a $96m-$105m asking price. RELATED: Arrotex pharma boss billionaire Dennis Bastas firming as $100m+ Toorak buyer Myer family: First look inside Toorak's Cranlana estate being sold by retail empire founders Toorak's $50m Besen estate quietly sold off in one of 2025's biggest deals That sum has subsequently been trumped by the more than $100m sale of nearby mansion Coonac, by former Essendon Football Club president Paul Little and his Melbourne University chancellor wife Jane Hansen. But Myer Family Investments have now revealed plans for a Heritage Victoria-approved overhaul to the 1.14ha landmark they are understood to have been seeking since prior to it being offered for sale. An initial deadline for buyers interested in the home was set for November 11 in 2024, but Toorak locals and industry sources had indicated there were question marks over how feasible a renovation would be at the heritage listed property. The release of a selection of renders, and details that include a new pool, a 20-car basement garage and modernised living spaces within the home surprised many of these parties. The home is approved for a new pool with an accompanying wellness centre in its expansive gardens. The impressive residence and gardens as they are today. The property is being sold by Myer Family Investments (MFI), whose chairman is Rupert Myer. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui. Marshall White listing agent Marcus Chiminello would not discuss prospective buyers' views on the home, but said the new imagery showed what could be achieved. 'The approved plans would transform it into one of Melbourne's most impressive residences,' Mr Chiminello said. 'And it could be done in a pretty short timeline.' Cranlana has been owned by the Myer family since Sidney Myer and wife Merlyn bought it in 1903. It's Italianate style has been celebrated as a part of Toorak's heritage, while its grounds and the home itself have been used to host philanthropic and family events. He added that strong transactions continued in Toorak, with the right homes still attracting strong offers — while noting that $100m was now seen as the top end of the city's housing market. A more modern interior could now be established for the home by its next owners. Renders show that while the home is slated for a potential update, it would still retain much of its period charm and character. 'There are now probably a handful of properties worth these figures, but it's just whether they will ever come up for sale,' Mr Chiminello said. The agent said that there would be a six week window of high activity in Melbourne's most illustrious suburbs following the federal election, with about three more weeks still to go. Sales records show Mr Chiminello has had a bumper May, selling the Robertson St, Toorak, home of landscape architect to Melbourne's elite Jack Merlo on May 20. The home had been listed for $16m-$17m. He has also sold luxury homes in Armadale and a penthouse in Toorak since the federal election. Meanwhile there has been a $50m sale of the family home of the late Marc and Eva Besen, who established one of the city's wealthiest families with children including Sussan fashion label boss Daniel Besen. A redesign would look to enhance the home's sense of space and use of natural light. The 62 Clendon Rd, Toorak, property offers plenty of space as it stands. It is understood the home was sold by Kay & Burton's Ross Savas and Nick Kenyon, who also handled the $100m-plus sale of Coonac for Mr Little and Ms Hansen. Michael Gibson has also recently sold 17 Linlithgow Rd, Toorak, above expectations in a boardroom auction. Industry sources have indicated that the home sold for $12.61m, well above the $9.6m-$10.2m that had been listed as part of its expressions of interest. Mr Gibson confirmed the home had six parties attend a private auction on Tuesday, May 20, and that it was on the market at $10m . It was the second this month that they had taken to a private auction for more than $10m. 'The depth of that segment in the market is incredibly strong ... it has never been stronger,' Mr Gibson said. Sign up to the Herald Sun Weekly Real Estate Update. Click here to get the latest Victorian property market news delivered direct to your inbox. MORE: Must-know home design transforming Australian suburbs, killing off beige box builds Landscape architect and gardener Jack Merlo moving into fourth Toorak mansion in five years HIA: Australia forecast to miss 1.2 million new homes construction target Originally published as Myer family reveal ritzy new look for Toorak estate aiming to be Melbourne's second $100m home
The Guardian
21-05-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
From the Pocket: Essendon must stop pining for the past after finding a semblance of stability
It was all trundling along nicely for Essendon. The club spent the past month gently tempering expectations, reminding everyone that this is a long-term project, that there will be bad losses and barren patches, but to stay the course. On field, they weren't beating much, but they were winning, they were defending, and they were having a crack. Coach Brad Scott was getting the most out of a limited but willing team. That all came unglued on Saturday night, when they were trounced by a red-hot Western Bulldogs. Essendon reverted to type and sank back into the pack. Almost immediately, the club was batting away suggestions that Scott's coaching tenure was under threat, and that Bombers great James Hird was the man to replace him. In response to Caroline Wilson's suggestion that the wolves were circling, the former Essendon chair Paul Little reportedly told the veteran reporter: 'You never say never to anything. It hasn't been an easy time for the club these past few years. There may come a time where there is a need for a restructure. If I felt I could add value to the club, and if they felt I could help, I would consider it.' That was quickly quashed on Nine's Footy Classified, a program whose entire purpose suddenly seems to be to repudiate what has been reported on Channel Seven an hour earlier. One show says it's on, another says it's off. The dogs bark, the caravan moves on, and the rest of us are left scratching our heads. Hird came within a whisker of reclaiming the Essendon coaching job in September 2022. Kevin Sheedy, his chief backer, was on Lindsay Fox's luxury yacht, sailing around the world with hundreds of movers and shakers to celebrate the trucking magnate's 85th birthday. He was confident that Hird would be appointed, and that the old Essendon was back. Back on dry land a fortnight later, he was informed his man had missed out. Essendon is an unusual football club. For years now it has been very political, riven by factions, dictated to by coterie groups and deferential to its past. It has presented as a club that can't let go, and still pines for the glory years. It manifests in many ways. You see it in the axe-grinding columns Allan Hird phones into the Herald Sun. You see it in the former players who run for board positions. You see it in lifers like former list boss Adrian Dodoro, who strutted around like he owned the place, became the king of October, drafted the wrong players, and then took the club to the Fair Work Commission. To his credit, president David Barham has sought to cut ties with the past. 'Harking back to the 80s, 90s or the 2000s and wishing we could return to that just causes drama and disunity,' he said at the AGM last year. 'The competition is so far removed from those times, it is almost a completely different game.' Barham has made mistakes and rubbed plenty of people up the wrong way. He sacked a coach, rolled a president, and appointed the shortest tenured CEO in corporate history. But he's honest about what has gone wrong, and what needs to change. He called it 20 years of 'quick fixes and shortcuts'; 20 years of scandals, sugar hits, false dawns, bad trades, draft busts, and schadenfreude; 20 years of Stephen Dank, Andrew Thorburn, Hird and Dodoro. Sign up to From the Pocket: AFL Weekly Jonathan Horn brings expert analysis on the week's biggest AFL stories after newsletter promotion On Footy Classified on Tuesday night, striking the right balance between bewilderment and defiance, Scott sat next to the man who was said to be in line to replace him. Scott spins a good game. But he and the people who employ him are right. For the first time in a long time at Essendon, there is clarity and a semblance of stability and sanity. To defer to the past, to pine for once what was, and to jump at shadows would rank among the biggest mistakes in recent times at a club that has made more than most. This is an extract from Guardian Australia's free weekly AFL email, From the Pocket. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
AFL world reacts amid staggering news about James Hird and Nathan Buckley
James Hird has released a statement denying an interest in returning as Essendon coach, after a stunning report on Monday night linking his return with former club chairman Paul Little. And Collingwood champion Nathan Buckley has expressed his interest in becoming the inaugural coach of the Tasmania team. Caroline Wilson revealed on Channel 7 on Monday night that she believes Hird still holds a desire to coach Essendon, after holding the role between 2011 and 2015. Hird unsuccessfully applied for the Bombers job when Brad Scott got it in 2023. Scott's future has been shrouded in uncertainty over the last few months, and scrutiny has intensified after their 91-point loss to Western Bulldogs last weekend. On Channel 7 program 'The Agenda Setters', Wilson reported that Little is a chance to return to the Bombers' board - and it could help Hird return to the head-coaching role. "We can reveal that Paul Little, the former chairman of Essendon and very generous benefactor who was there as chairman during 2013, 2014 and 2015, those acrimonious days, has not ruled out, in fact has left the door very much open to a return to the Essendon board," Wilson said. "A return that, in my view, would include James Hird as coach. "All year, this story has been festering. We started to hear when the club re-signed Brad Scott until the end of 2027 that there was some unrest from some of the old guard, who weren't happy about the re-signing. They didn't think it was necessary. My belief is that James still harbours an ambition to coach Essendon. I am absolutely convinced of that." Hird later released a statement to his employer Channel 9 denying the claims. "It's news to me and I haven't spoken to Paul Little for months. I nearly fell of the couch when I heard it," he said. Little told Channel 7: "You never say never to anything" and that there "may come a time when there is a need for a restructure. If I felt I could add value to the club, and if they felt I could help, then I would consider it." On Hird he said: "I consider him a friend both inside, but more importantly, outside of football." RELATED: 'Positive' new details emerge amid Cyril Rioli and Hawthorn situation AFL world shattered as Collingwood coach breaks down in presser Speaking on Channel 9 program 'Footy Classified', Essendon champion Matthew Lloyd said the Hird rumours would provide an unnecessary distraction for the playing group. "It's not good for the club," he said. "James obviously denied that, and you believe James in that situation, and this is what happens when you lose by 91 points. "Unfortunately things like this happen, whether it's from a coterie member or someone around the club. It's the last thing those within the football club need because they just want to get on with being the club they hope to be." Earlier on Monday, former Collingwood coach Buckley admitted he still has the desire to coach and is intrigued by the Tasmania Devils job. The Devils will join the AFL in 2028 and plan to enter a team in the VFL next season. Buckley, who stepped down as Magpies coach in 2021, revealed he's met with Devils chief executive Brendon Gale twice to discuss a senior role with the expansion club. "There's a chance," he said on SEN radio when asked if he could coach the Tasmania team. "The initial (contact) was from him and then the second one was from me to understand the challenge that the Devils faced and how they are going to build that club. To put my two cents' in, I suppose, and then to learn as much as I possibly could about it. "There's a couple of really good football people I believe would go really well down there. I put their names forward and put them in front of Brendon." Buckley said he's "still exploring" what the challenge of coaching Tasmania would look like. "That coaching bug is still there, (but) I'm really enjoying what I'm doing at the moment," he said in regards to his media roles. "An existing club versus the Devils; they're two very different propositions. So to understand more about the Devils is to understand whether you think it fits and whether you're energised by it. That challenge is so different to what I've experienced." AFL fans reacted to the news about Hird and Buckley on social media, with a wide range of opinions. Bring back HIRD — Domitian Legio 🇦🇺 🇺🇲 🏴 (@James_LFC) May 19, 2025 Since Kevin Sheedy's departure in 2007, James Hird has one of the best coaching record out of any EFC coach since 07. With a clean air and coaching experiences with GWS and Port Melbourne, he deserves another opportunity to coach Essendon. — Alex Sar #DonTheSash (@alexmatthewsar) May 19, 2025 Do it Nath — @wallopfam (@cfc_1892) May 19, 2025 Not that i would ever really want him associated with any club other than the Pies, i hope he gets the job and wins the bloody flag in his first year. He deserves it. Go for it @ncb_cfc . Pies fans will follow you all the way…. Well unless its us you end up playing haha — LEIGH S (@sweet68) May 19, 2025
News.com.au
19-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
James Hird blindsided by claims of plot to bring him back as Essendon coach
Former Essendon coach James Hird says he 'nearly fell off the couch' when he saw a report ex-chairman Paul Little wants to return to the Bombers board and bring Hird back as coach. It comes as veteran reporter Caroline Wilson claims Hird still 'harbours an ambition to coach Essendon' again following his messy exit from the club in the aftermath of the supplements saga. On Monday night, Wilson reported Little would be interested in returning to the club he chaired between 2013 and 2015. FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. He oversaw the fallout after Essendon players were injected with substances such as anti-obesity drug AOD-9604 and thymosin - later concluded by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to be the banned performance-enhancing substance Thymosin Beta-4. Sanctions included the club being banned from the 2013 finals series, Hird being suspended for 12 months and 34 players being suspended during the 2016 season. Hird returned as coach after serving his suspension in 2014 but then resigned in 2015 when the Bombers were languishing near the bottom of the ladder. He briefly returned as an assistant coach at GWS in 2022 under ex-teammate and interim boss Mark McVeigh, and has since taken a key role at VFL side Port Melbourne, suggesting he still holds interest in coaching. But Hird's return to the Bombers would reportedly be part of a broader move inspired by agitators who believe the club is on the wrong path under coach Brad Scott and president Dave Barham - who are attempting to move on from an era led by those longing desperately for Essendon's glory days. Little 'has left the door very much open to a return to the Essendon board, a return that, in my view, would include James Hird as coach', Wilson said on Seven on Monday night. 'All year, this story has been festering. Kevin Sheedy, who left the board, Adrian Dodoro, who left the club in really highly acrimonious circumstances ... there's been barbs from both at various people at the club. 'But we had started to hear after the club resigned Brad Scott until the end of 2027 that there was some unrest from some of the old guard who weren't happy about the re-signing, didn't think it was necessary.' Little told Wilson: 'You never say never to anything. It hasn't been an easy time for the club these past few years. There may come a time when there is a need for a restructure. If I felt I could add value to the club, and if they felt I could help, then I would consider it.' Wilson extrapolated that Hird would be part of any Little return, which stunned the Essendon great. 'It's news to me and I haven't spoken to Paul Little for months,' he told Nine. 'I nearly fell off the couch when I heard it.'
News.com.au
09-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Arrotex pharma boss billionaire Dennis Bastas firming as buyer of $100m+ Coonac mansion in Toorak
Billionaire pharmaceuticals company owner Dennis Bastas is firming as the likely buyer behind Melbourne's priciest ever home sale. But it might not have long as the city's most expensive residence, with suggestions crypto casino billionaire Ed Craven's efforts to revive a St Georges Rd home dubbed the suburb's 'ghost mansion' could have it worth as much as $160m. Former Essendon president Paul Little made headlines earlier in the year selling his home, named Coonac, in a $100m+ deal that industry insiders have pegged as worth anywhere from $115m-$120m, though was initially reported by the Australian Financial Review as $150m. It is Melbourne's priciest ever sale, but likely short of the $130m Sydney-based house price record for Australia. A nine-bedroom Sydney penthouse set the nation's overall home price record at $140m in 2019. Kay & Burton's Ross Savas and Gerald Delaney are understood to have helped ink the deal, but have yet to comment on it. With the sale understood to be subject to an exceptionally long settlement in acknowledgment of Mr Little and his wife Jane Hansen, the University of Melbourne chancellor, still overseeing the renovation of their future home in South Yarra, title documents are yet to change hands and confirm the new owner. Reportedly worth a hefty $1.8bn, Mr Bastas chairs Arrotex Pharmaceuticals, myDNA and DBG Health — with his companies recently collecting MCoBeauty for about $500m. In February, when initially contacted about rumours he had purchased the home, the billionaire said he was unsure why other parties were naming him and said 'we already have a nice Toorak house' — referencing another mansion in the suburb dubbed the Wayne Residence for its Batman-like basement garage. But he didn't specifically say he had not purchased the home. Those in the know around Toorak have continued to link him to the sale, with industry sources today indicating they still believed him to be the purchaser. But he might not be the owner of the city's priciest pile for long, with ongoing work to build a new mansion on nearby St Georges Rd by crypto casino billionaire Ed Craven already starting to emerge from the ground. Locals are pegging that home's future value as worth anywhere from $100m-$160m. RT Edgar Toorak boss Jeremy Fox said it was hard to imagine Mr Craven's build cost would come in for much less than the $80.88m he spent acquiring the site in 2022. Between the St Georges Rd upgrade and Mr Little's sale, Mr Fox said it was clear Melbourne's richlisters were stepping up. 'It shows how successful a lot of people in Melbourne are, and how they love living in Melbourne,' Mr Fox said. 'And that's a positive for everyone.' Paul Conrad, the architect designing the property, is on the public record citing a $150m end-value figure for the home. Morrell and Koren buyer's advocate Matthew Cleverdon said the city's elite were 'still looking for a consistent supply of high-end homes'. 'With the interrupted year so far, some vendors will choose to wait until spring when there's less public holiday interruptions and less turmoil, with plenty of high-end buyers eagerly awaiting more choice,' Mr Cleverdon said. However, there is still at least one home listed for sale with hopes of a $100m+ sale. The Myer family have Toorak mansion Cranlana listed for sale at 62 Clendon Rd, Toorak, with a $96m-$105m price guide. The 1.14ha property is possibly the only other address in the suburb that could rival the record-setting Coonac for size, but has been awaiting a buyer since September last year. It is being represented by Marshall White's Marcus Chiminello, who is also working to sell a luxury penthouse at the top of Tim Gurner's Saint Moritz development on behalf of real estate and media guru Antony Catalano. Mr Chiminello has also this week listed a six-bedroom South Yarra mansion with a $31m-$33m asking price at 53-57 Park St as 'coming soon'. Records show the 900sq m address is owned by Vincent Sofo, a nightclub and venue operator who previously owned St Kilda's popular Espy hotel.
