First published 28 Oct 2026, 1:00am
The “sky mansion” had been marketed as “the finest penthouse in Surfers Paradise”. Image: Realestate.com.au
An ex banking boss pleading hardship to back out of a $7.5m deal after body corp rose by $171 a week, has been forced to buy the property with interest – after a boastful email sunk his defence.
Former high-flying investment banker Peter Zhe Kuk and his wife Cindy had attempted to pull out on the eve of settlement from the purchase of a luxury “sky mansion”, claiming a body corporate levy increase had caused them “material prejudice” as self-funded retirees.
Peter Kuk in a social post put up earlier. The judgment came down against him in Brisbane’s Supreme Court. Source: Facebook / Peter Kuk
The couple claimed in the Supreme Court that they had no regular income with living expenses under strain because they were spending more than $200,000 a year sending their eldest daughter to university in London.
They claimed that an $8,943.79-a-year rise in building levies – which lifted annual body corporate fees on the 39th-floor penthouse from $27,949 to $36,893 – justified ripping up the contract.
But their plea of financial hardship came crashing down in Brisbane’s Supreme Court after Justice Peter Treston exposed a boastful email Mr Kuk had sent to high-profile Gold Coast real estate agent Amir Mian.
In the March message, Mr Kuk had bragged that he was a former Asia-Pacific managing director and vice chairman at HSBC and Bank of America, controlling “billions” in international cash piles.
Mr Kuk’s email to the agent had said “I am currently managing investment sums totalling several billion US dollars, and because my daughter lives in London, we are also in the process of arranging the acquisition of a project in London valued at over one billion US dollars”.
The two storey penthouse was put up for sale by Fitch Resorts Pty Ltd. Image: Realestate.com.au
The property crowns the iconic ‘Crown Towers’ on the Gold Coast. Image: Realestate.com.au
“The reason we were able to make a quick decision to purchase the $7,500,000 apartment was precisely because we often need to fly between Europe and Hong Kong at short notice. We simply do not have the time to focus on minor details or narratives, nor are we particularly interested in them.”
Justice Treston said “if that sum (several billion US dollars) is his own money, or that of companies he controls, it is hard to imagine that a yearly increase in levies by $8,943.79 would have any material prejudice upon his finances”.
“Whatever the truth of those assertions, it seems more likely that the sum of $8,943.79 would fall into the category of a ‘minor detail’ in which the respondents were not ‘particularly interested’, rather than a matter causing them material prejudice,” Justice Treston ruled.
“Rather, the evidence suggests that the respondents are wealthy investors who did not regard the increased levies as an impassable issue.”
The home has its own pool. Image: Realestate.com.au
The penthouse spans 818 sqm across levels 39 and 40. Image: Realestate.com.au
Court documents reveal the couple signed a contract on March 3, 2026 to buy apartment 3901 at 5–19 Palm Avenue, Surfers Paradise, putting down a $375,000 deposit.
Despite their conveyancer flagging during due diligence that levies were likely to rise at an upcoming extraordinary general meeting, the couple confirmed their satisfaction and forged ahead – with Mr Kuk claiming in court that he found the body corporate documents “too daunting to read”.
On July 10, just hours before settlement was due, the buyers delivered a termination notice claiming they were materially prejudiced because levies had “almost doubled”.
Justice Treston rejected their termination notice as invalid and granted the seller, Fitch Resorts Pty Ltd, an order for specific performance – compelling the Kuks to settle the purchase on November 20, 2026.
Making the botched exit even more costly, the judge ordered the couple to pay contractual default interest at a punishing 10.84 per cent per annum on the unpaid purchase balance dating back to July 10, as well as paying the seller’s legal costs.
Stunning spot to catch the sunset. Image: Realestate.com.au
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