Melbourne luxury car dealer buys $2.5 million showroom in Sydney
One of Australia’s top prestige car dealerships has finally entered the Sydney market with the purchase of a showroom in the eastern suburbs after selling three top-priced vehicles to local buyers in the past 48 hours from its Melbourne HQ.
“With COVID, people’s priorities have changed and they realise life is short and they can’t take their money with them,” said Srecko Lorbek of Lorbek Luxury Cars.
“It’s also harder to go overseas so they’re deciding to spend money on themselves in a different way, to reward themselves. We’ve had such a demand for our cars from Sydney, with people buying them sight unseen or visiting us in Melbourne, we’ve decided now to set up in Sydney too.”
Mr Lorbek has just bought a ground-floor showroom property in Rushcutters Bay for $2.5 million, together with its rooftop space with signage and views of the harbour. He’ll start stocking it with high-end luxury European cars from May 31 when its current lease expires.
“We’ll be able to put a massive billboard there to complement the Coke sign just up the road in Kings Cross,” he said. “We’re negotiating now about its size and what we can say.”
The move has come after an increasing number of sales at his dealership, ranging in price from $100,000 to $500,000, to Sydney customers. In the last 48 hours, they’ve bought, through its website, a $329,000 Ferrari, a $250,000 Lamborghini, and a Mustang Shelby for $150,000.
Mr Lorbek’s new 282-square-metre site is on a prominent position on Bayswater Road, the main link for traffic moving from the CBD out to the eastern beaches. It had been marketed as having the potential for a showroom or for use as an office, retail or food and beverage.
Knight Frank agent Anthony Pirrottina said the private treaty sale had been fiercely contested. “The property has the benefit of high exposure, being on a traffic-controlled intersection, with 65,000 vehicles passing by daily,” he said.
“With only a handful of prime retail offerings located on major arterial road networks offered for sale in the eastern suburbs at any given time, this was rare, so we had significant interest from buyers. When Lorbek moves into the space, it will definitely become a landmark in Sydney’s East.”
Mr Lorbek has also just bought a harbourside home in Darling Point within walking distance to the site, so he’ll be able to oversee the expansion of his business, which has been operating for over 30 years from Port Melbourne.
A motor mechanic by trade, he started out repairing and servicing cars, then obtained a dealership licence to supplement his business. Soon, that became his main focus. Now, he has an average of 180 high-end luxury or collectable classics at any one time in his showrooms.
“Over the last five or so years, word has spread from Melbourne via the internet and social media,” he said. “We’ve been having a lot of visitors from Sydney flying down for the day or weekend to see our cars and we’d have hundreds through at Grand Prix time.
“Everyone has such a passion for cars, so we thought it was time to do something in Sydney too.”
The showroom, opposite the Vibe Hotel, will be decorated with automotive memorabilia and art in readiness for the first delivery of cars, including super exotics, sports cars – both modern and classic – prestige cars and all brands of luxury European SUVs.
The dealership sells vehicles from Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin, Bentley, Ferrari, Jaguar, Lamborghini, Lotus, Maserati, McLaren, Rolls-Royce and Porsche, among others. When its doors open in July, it will also host car club events and functions.
But those who are hoping to see many more of the eye-catching models driving around Sydney may be disappointed. “Many people buy them but never drive them,” said Mr Lorbek. “They just like to have them sitting in their garage as an investment.”
