Source : the age
The downsizer pad in Sydney’s Point Piper where Joseph and Gerda Brender of the Katies women’s clothing empire lived is for sale with a price guide of around $20 million.
It has been listed by their family as both are deceased. Records show the couple bought the three-bedroom, three-bathroom, whole-floor sub-penthouse for $17,700,490 in 2021 from fruit and vegetable wholesaler Rocco Lagudi and his wife, Frances.
The Brenders downsized just up the road from their Point Piper waterfront home called Edgewater, a single residence which was converted into a duplex. They shared half of the four-storey property with the late Sam Moss, who co-founded Katies.
Gold mining businessman “John” Changjin Li bought both units in 2020, but settled on the Moss’ property for $47,497,000 in 2023, and the Brenders’ property for $47.5 million in 2025, coming to an eventual total of $94,997,000.
In court documents in 2023, Li’s estranged wife “Maria” Meihong Yang said Li described Edgewater as “the best property in Sydney, we only buy the best”.
However, as of June this year, Li no longer owns the property. The NSW Supreme Court revoked his hold on it and reinstated Yang on corporate records as the ultimate owner of the landmark residence.
Edgewater was built in the 1980s by showbiz entrepreneur Michael Edgley and his then-wife Jeni, who sold it in 1985 for $5 million to the Brender and Moss families.
The abode for sale has a Calacatta marble kitchen, a built-in cocktail bar, timber floors, plantation shutters, a covered terrace, an outdoor communal pool and space for four cars.
There are uninterrupted Sydney Harbour, Harbour Bridge and Opera House views.
Joseph and Sam scored a place on the BRW Rich List in the late 1980s with a then-estimated net worth of $115 million thanks in part to their sale of Katies to Coles Myer in 1984. As owners of the textile group Brenmoss Holdings, they also owned 70 per cent of Australia’s bedlinen, fabric and clothing manufacturing industry by the 1990s.
Michael Pallier of Sydney Sotheby’s International Realty is accepting expressions of interest for the property. He also sold Edgewater to Li in an off-market deal.
Affordable housing boss lists coastal masterpiece
Lisa Scoble, director of Bungalow Co, a shared housing company in Sydney, has put her architecturally designed home in Coogee on the market with a price guide of $35 million.
The company offers fully furnished rooms for rent across the city from Bexley to Bondi from $200 a week.
Records show the existing house on the clifftop site was purchased for $6.9 million in 2011, and approved DA plans lodged with council reveal a new four-level dwelling with a pool.
Architect Renato D’Ettorre and interior designer Belinda Brown were enlisted for the multi-level, five-bedroom, six-bathroom rebuild above the cliffs of Gordons Bay.
A whitewashed facade is reminiscent of Aegean Islands architecture and perforated brickwork filters sunlight and shadow. There is a Verdi Alpi marble kitchen, a gym and steam room, music room, cellar, infinity pool, self-contained studio and uninterrupted ocean vistas.
Scoble said she was familiar with architect D’Ettorre’s work, particularly on Queensland’s Hamilton Island, and gave him a lot of scope to work his magic.
“You really go on a journey throughout the home with its various spaces and enormous range of views,” she said. “It’s bittersweet to sell, but it’s the classic time to downsize.”
Understandably, like many grand-scale residential projects, Scoble said the construction process was not always smooth sailing. “It was a really lengthy time with approvals, particularly dealing with the potential view losses from other residents in the area.”
Michael Pallier and James Ball of Sydney Sotheby’s International Realty are accepting expressions of interest for the property.
Former ASX exec lists home
Blair Beaton, the former ASX listings boss, and his wife, Michelle, are selling their waterfront home in Sydney’s Mosman with a price guide of $18 million as they plan to downsize.
Records show the couple bought the five-bedroom, four-bathroom house with an infinity pool, deck and terraces, designed by architect Patrick Nicholas, for $9.5 million in 2018, and embarked on a renovation including a new Caesarstone chef’s kitchen.
There are multiple entertaining zones with uninterrupted views over Middle Harbour to The Heads, a home office, media room and powder room with limestone finishes. The abode is one of only a handful in the area with private beach access.
Mr Beaton stepped down as ASX group executive (listings) in June last year after being appointed to the role in August 2022. He joined the ASX in 2017 as chief strategy officer.
Adrian Bridges and Luke Arnold of Raine & Horne Mosman are selling the home. An auction has been scheduled for October.
Kristy Johnson is a prestige property reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.
