Hotchin island hideaway for sale

A multimillion-dollar Waiheke holiday home with its own private beach owned by a corporate trustee linked to embattled Auckland businessman Mark Hotchin has been put on the market. The Waiheke place is one of the island's best properties, set in a gully which flows down to the iconic Boatshed Bay with its own 100 metre-long white sand beach. The former Hanover director does not own the beachhead outright, with the 4.5ha of land and dwellings secured in a trust known as KA 3. The property is one bay along from popular Palm Beach near Oneroa and is blocked from sight by cliffs and steep hillsides. The northwest-facing land contains a two-level, five-bedroom home, a four-car garage and two-bedroom guest accommodation, four boat sheds, boat ramp, spa pool and tennis court. The island property was bought for $13.8 million in 2005, when its valuation was just $5.2 million, Quotable Value records show. It now has a capital valuation of $8.8 million, and Bayleys real estate agent Michael Pleciak pointed to that and the 2005 purchase price when asked what he expected the property to sell for. "What we have found is that for good real estate, people are still very interested in purchasing those type of assets. And this represents one of them," Mr Pleciak said. "The attributes this property has in terms of the flat land, on the beach with riparian rights, and particularly in that location, is very rare." Hotchin's multimillion-dollar Paritai Drive clifftop mansion was also owned by one of the KA trusts. However, unlike the 4.5ha Waiheke property it remains an asset frozen by the Financial Markets Authority - formerly the Securities Commission - following the collapse of the Hanover companies and the sale of assets to Allied Farmers. About 16,000 investors lost more than $500 million. The asset preservation orders were put in place to ensure if any investors wished to take civil action against Hotchin in the future, there would be money available should they win. In the High Court last year, the FMA argued the trusts held property as bare nominees or that they were shams and the properties in reality were owned by the former Hanover director. Justice Winkelmann reserved her judgement on the issue and has not yet released it. Mr Pleciak said he had been instructed by the owners of 46a Matapana Rd - KA No 3 Trustee Ltd - to make clear that all regulatory authorities involved with the property were aware of the sale. He expected the listing, tenders for which close 27 March, to attract widespread interest, particularly from New Zealand, Australia, and Kiwis living abroad. "I'd call it one of the island's best properties full-stop." The Hotchins had commissioned top Auckland architect Andrew Patterson to design a low-key concrete mansion to replace the current 1980s cedar weatherboard house. Auckland City issued consent to build, however the plans never came to fruition after the transfer of Hanover's assets to Allied Farmers.