ON THE QT
Expensive legal storm brews over residential titles and alleged contract breaches at St Tropez
Expensive legal storm brews over residential titles and alleged contract breaches at St Tropez
THE sun might be shining on the French Riviera resort town of St Tropez and its jetsetters but things aren’t too bright at St Tropez on the Gold Coast.
An attempt by a Chinese buyer to amalgamate the shops, offices and apartments that make up St Tropez property in Surfers Paradise appears to be in disarray, if not dead in the water.
The attempt, believed to be a $60 million-plus exercise, started in the first half of 2017 and appears to have been fraught with problems.
The latest is that the owners of more than 50 of the St Tropez residential titles are being taken to court by the party attempting the amalgamation, which wants the deposits back.
While that action has been looming, another law firm has believed to be mounting a class action on behalf of disgruntled St Tropez owners.
The low-rise St Tropez, developed by Jim Raptis 40 years ago, sits on a 4434sqm site that would be a delight in any developer’s portfolio.
That obviously is the view of one Liang Sun, who has been behind the St Tropez buyout effort via company Greenhill One.
Liang, who has a Brisbane address, is the new owner, post a July auction, of a $6.55 million property overlooking the ocean on The Esplanade and which is close to the St Tropez rear boundary. At the time of that buy, successful bidder Jason Hague, a Sunshine Coast town planner, told the Bulletin he would use the house as a Hague family holiday home.
Subsequently it emerged that another Liang company Vividly, was the actual buyer and that Jason also was in- volved in the move on St Tropez – he was the sole director of Liang Sun’s Greenhill One.
The attempt to put together St Tropez started as a fairly straightforward exercise.
Contracts were taken out between May and August and settlement day, apparently due for late September or early October, came and went.
Greenhill One says it advised owners, electronically, on October 13 that it was terminating the contracts.
Prior to Christmas, law firm MinterEllison said it had been engaged to act for some of the owners and that it had given them advice over contract defects.
It said that if any action was to be taken, it would be a collective, or class, one.
Post-Christmas Greenhill One has filed actions in the Brisbane Supreme Court against owners, claiming contract breaches and the return of deposits that ranged from $41,000 to $70,000 and amounted, in total, to $2.272 million.
One name missing from the target list is Carla Zampatti Pty Ltd, which owns eight streetfront St Tropez shops as the upshot of a 1982 deal.
It’s been mooted the company, associated with the fashion designer of the same name, was to receive about $12 million for her titles under the Greenhill One exercise.
THE ATTEMPT, BELIEVED TO BE A $60 MILLION-PLUS EXERCISE, STARTED IN THE FIRST HALF OF 2017 AND APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN FRAUGHT WITH PROBLEMS.