Sexyland founder Angelo Abela sells $8m Brighton East mansion - realestate.com.au

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Sexyland boss Angelo Abela has sold his $8m Brighton East mansion, a private resort with basement pokies, sauna and sports court.

Sexyland boss Angelo Abela has quietly sold one of Brighton East's most over-the-top estates.

The man behind the chain of adult megastores flogging everything from lingerie to sex toys pocketed $8.11m in a private boardroom auction, putting the deal among the suburb's biggest of the year.

The bayside bolthole is part wellness retreat, part private fun park.

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On more than 1200sq m, the home has been designed as a lifestyle compound where floor-to-ceiling glass links living zones to gardens, a heated pool and a pizza-oven terrace.

A central stairwell rises above a koi pond and indoor greenery, while a grand piano marks the entry, setting the tone for a home pitched as much at entertaining as everyday family life.

The kitchen, with an oversized island bench and garden-framed splashback, connects to open-plan lounge and dining zones where sliding glass walls dissolve the line between inside and out.

Upstairs, the bedrooms double as boutique-style suites, each with a private bathroom and dressing room, while the main adds a day-spa ensuite and walk-in robe.

Wellness and recreation are built in, there's a cedar-lined sauna, gym and spa wing, plus a floodlit multi-sports court stretching the width of the block for tennis, basketball or five-a-side under lights.

Then there's the basement, a cavernous level the size of a tennis court, with garaging for 10 cars alongside a cinema, bar, poker machines, pinball and pool tables, and even a boat built into the fit-out.

Fredman Property's Sarah Korbel said three bidders -- two local families and a Sydney buyer relocating to be closer to St Leonard's College -- fought hard for the keys.

"It's like living in your own private resort," Ms Korbel said.

"Every part of the home is geared to lifestyle, by the pool, on the court, or in the sauna."

"Homes like this are once-in-a-generation."

For Abela, the deal adds another chapter to a colourful career.

A former muffler salesman, he turned Sexyland into one of Australia's biggest adult retail brands, building 16 warehouse-style outlets across three states and pitching them to mainstream shoppers with the "Bunnings-meets-David Jones" approach.

His business moves have included a failed hostile takeover bid for rival Adultshop.com in 2009, and more recently a $1.445m sale-and-leaseback of Sexyland's Campbellfield flagship.

Now his Brighton East escape joins the list, a trophy home part sanctuary, part showroom, part playground.

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