Has Kiwi rich-lister Ben Cook sold his Auckland mansion for $35m?

- Ben Cook’s Herne Bay mansion reportedly sold for $35m, matching its RV and ranking fourth-highest in the country.

- There is confusion about the sale’s completion, with some sources claiming Cook is still seeking buyers.

- Cook has been selling his New Zealand assets, including a Bunnings warehouse and Ponsonby Post Office.

Has Kiwi rich-lister Ben Cook sold his waterfront mansion?

Records show that the property on Sentinel Road, in Auckland’s Herne Bay, transferred to Trustee Services Limited in late September for $35 million.

Rumours that Cook had sold or was in the process of selling his trophy home have been swirling for months, but there appears to be confusion as to whether a deal has taken place.

Several sources within the industry told OneRoof that they had heard Cook was still looking for buyers, while others have said that the sale is genuine.

Property developer Ben Cook in Europe. He has been steadily selling off his NZ assets since announcing his move to Australia. Photo / Supplied

OneRoof reached out to Cook’s company, Cook Property, for comment, but he had not replied at the time of publication.

OneRoof understands that luxury real estate agent Graham Wall brokered the deal, but he declined to comment.

A sale at $35m would match the 4000sqm property’s RV and be the fourth-highest in New Zealand.

Cook, who has been busily selling off his New Zealand assets, bought the Sentinel Road property in 2015 through Wall for $24m and turned it into one of Auckland’s finest homes.

Discover more:

- Mortgagee auction of landmark Auckland mansion less than two years after $4.55m sale

- Buyers abandon Queenstown-Lakes for alpine village with $500K homes and no traffic

- Three South Auckland homes worth over $3m could sell for as little as three bucks

The minimalist three-level, six-bedroom house was designed by Fearon Hay Architects for the previous owners, endoscopic surgeon John Dunn and his art collector wife Rosie, and was given an extensive makeover soon after Cook bought it.

The sleek grey glass that wraps around the central structure and its position on the waterfront have made it a landmark property. The architects used metals such as aged brass, punched aluminium and steel, concrete, and travertine marble.

The property also has private beach access and a helicopter hangar.

Cook bought the Fearon Hay-designed home in 2015 for $24m. Photo / NZME

The property dominates the harbour and is rated as one of the country’s finest homes. Photo / Chris Tarpey

Cook, whose property development company focuses on long-term commercial investment, told the New Zealand Herald two years ago that he was moving to Australia, and that he would be splitting his time between Sydney and the UK.

He put many of his commercial properties on the market and listed his luxury bach on Waiheke Island for sale. The three-bedroom holiday home, which has an RV of $10.4m, comes with a bar, a lift, and a ramp to the beach, and has been on and off the market since 2023.

Cook Property sold the country’s largest Bunnings in Auckland’s Westgate for a reported $51m to listed company Investore, and offloaded the former Ponsonby Post Office on the corner of St Marys Road and College Hill for $6.35m.

Cook’s bach on Waiheke Island is still up for grabs. Photo / Supplied

He also sold the Herne Bay Woolworths he had developed with business partner Kurt Gibbons. It had been on the market soon after the supermarket opened in 2022, but the $28.48m deal did not conclude until February this year.

Last year, Cook listed his newly renovated Bondi Beach apartment in the Sydney suburb’s coveted Notts Avenue with a guide price of A$16m. However, the property was withdrawn from the open market earlier this year, its status unknown.

Cook told the Herald that his move away from New Zealand was for a variety of reasons: “It’s a mix of things: business, family and lifestyle. I love New Zealand. I think it’s the best place in the world for lifestyle and outdoors.”

A waterfront stunner on Cremorne Street, in Auckland’s Herne Bay, is up for grabs and aiming to break records. Photo / Supplied

A sale price of $35m for Sentinel Road would be a record for Herne Bay, but is one that’s unlikely to last. Last week, OneRoof and the New Zealand Herald reported that rich-lister property developer Simon Herbert and his wife Paula were selling their waterfront mansion for $50m-plus.

Their Cremorne Street property, which has an RV of $28m and is listed with Graham Wall, was designed by top Kiwi architect Brent Hulena and has its own helicopter pad, beach access, and boatshed as well as media and games rooms and a clifftop pool.

The Herberts are relocating to Monaco as their business “horizons have moved to include Europe, particularly around Monaco and in the south of France,” Wall told OneRoof.

Rich-lister property developer Kurt Gibbons sold his waterfront Herne Bay mansion on Marine Parade earlier this year. Photo / Supplied

The couple completely transformed the Brent Hulena-designed house after they bought it in 2018. “It’s now 1075sqm, with a pool on 3000sqm of prime Herne Bay waterfront,” he said.

“They have blown it to pieces. They’ve added to it, and it’s now seven bedrooms and 10 bathrooms. Even though it was a new house when they bought it, they’ve changed it. It’s bright and white and very, very fancy, it’s so cool. It’s just a very contemporary and sophisticated joint now.”

The couple bought the luxury pad in 2018 for $27.5m, the year’s top price, after Wall sold their Remuera home a couple of months earlier for $26m.

Wall could not be drawn on the price, or what the couple spent on the renovation, but it’s expected the property will be looking for more than $50m.

If it sells at that level, it will be a New Zealand record, beating the $45.5m that the 19ha Chantecler estate, in Queenstown, fetched in 2023. It’ll also be an Auckland record, overtaking the circa $40m that a luxury estate on Arney Road, Remuera, got this year.

Earlier this year, Gibbons sold his Herne Bay stunner for an undisclosed amount. When it first hit the market, it was looking for over $40m.

Trustee companies are often used to protect the identity of property owners. They can also be used as a way to move assets between companies and family members. "Buyers use trustee services to protect their privacy and anonymity, so they can't be traced," said Wayne Shum, senior analyst at OneRoof's data partner, Valocity.

Agents reacted positively to the news of the reported sale. New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty agent Pene Milne, who did the $24m deal for Anna Mowbray and Ali Williams' headland property on Rawene Avenue, in neighbouring Westmere, said that such a price for Herne Bay waterfront was no surprise.

“It shows people the value of direct waterfront, with boat access, right on the edge of the city. Anywhere else, you’d have to travel miles out of town, or be on a public beach with people walking past,” she said.

“There’s no traffic, it’s private, and it is spectacularly positioned to get that north and west sun. Where else can you find all that?”

Bayleys agent Gary Wallace said that waterfront properties attract the right type of buyer. “They’re outstanding, they’re sought after and they’re high value,” he said.

“I have just been in China for a week and I can tell you that wealth up there has another meaning - it’s extraordinary. For that kind of wealthy person coming in to buy, $35m is relatively cheap compared to what they’d have to pay overseas for that.”

- Click here to find more properties for sale in Auckland