Shire tech head David Greiner secures Cronulla beachfront blocks
Sydney's millionaire tech heads love prestige waterfront property for their family compounds.
The Sutherland Shire-based tech richlister David Greiner has splashed out big time on an prized Cronulla beachfront site consolidation.
He has quietly spent $23 million plus on The Esplanade (above).
Greiner is half of the publicity-shy duo from the Shire quietly who built one of Australia's most exciting technology companies over the past decade.
His property play highlights the passion for property held by Sydney's young tech heads.
Only last month the Atlassian co-founder, tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes bought Australia’s most expensive house, the harbourfront jewel, Fairwater at Double Bay in Sydney's east for close to $100 million.
Cannon-Brookes 1.12 hectare acquisition followed his Atlassian business partner Scott Farquhar paying $71 million, without any mortgage next-door for another Fairfax family home, Elaine last year with plans for an architectural makeover by Rome-based expat architect Carl Pickering.
Greiner's off market purchases are at the southern end of Cronulla beach with the five acquisitions on a combined 1,175 sqm land holding.
His known purchases have ranged between $2.5 million and $8 million so far, with one further acquisition expected.
All but one are in Greiner's own name, with one purchased through a related company.
With the site consolidation not quite complete, his final outlay remains undisclosed, along with whether he intends to build a luxury family home or undertake apartment redevelopment plans in the long term.
Founded by Greiner and Ben Richardson, Campaign Monitor was billed as the next Atlasssian when it shot to prominence in 2014 selling a $348 million stake to US venture capital firms.
It makes software for email campaigns, with over two million customers at more than 200,000 businesses, with staff in Sydney, San Francisco and London.
Having started out in a garage in the Sutherland Shire, their most recent shared net worth was suggested as $600 million, second only to the billionaire tech head duo at Atlassian.
David and wife Renee live in Caringbah South, and own a Mollymook Beach weekender where last year they spent $2 million extending the Mitchell Parade holding, quickly securing approval for a tennis court.
Ben Richardson is building a luxury home at Shearwater Landing, on a 3350 sqm holding in the coastal Cronulla master-planned residential precinct.
He and wife Inger have no registered mortgage on the four building blocks that cost $12.6 million.
Friends since they were five-year olds, their company success emerged from their web design business which the pair launched when they were students in the late 1990s studying at the University of Wollongong.
In mid-2017 Greiner and Richardson, the company's two Australian-based founders, relinquished all operational duties, but remained on the board on the company.
"As parents with young kids, they're taking the time they didn't have when building Campaign Monitor over the past decade to spend more time with their family," the spokesperson said at the time in a statement.
Nautilus, built on Burraneer Bay for soft drink scion, Steve Shelley, is regarded as the Shire's most expensive home build.
The seven bedroom, six-storey mansion comes with its own bowling alley, home cinema and bar.
It was crowned the Australian Home of the Year in the 2016 HIA-CSR Australian Housing Awards.
This article was first published in the Daily Telegraph.
