NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Business

Party pill godfather Matt Bowden's $2m house sale

By Lane Nichols
Reporter & Deputy Head of News·NZ Herald·
28 Jul, 2015 05:30 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Matt Bowden paid $2.55 million for the 3500sq m property in February 2013 and it has a CV of $2.6 million. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Matt Bowden paid $2.55 million for the 3500sq m property in February 2013 and it has a CV of $2.6 million. Photo / Brett Phibbs

A sprawling clifftop property owned by party pills godfather Matt Bowden has been sold by mortgagee sale to a prominent Auckland investor for $600,000 below its CV.

Mr Bowden's former empire - including a property portfolio valued at about $5 million - is being sold off bit by bit as liquidators try to recoup at least $1.42 million he owes in debt, including an $850,000 bill to IRD.

A North Shore waterfront property at 80 Cliff Rd, Torbay fetched $1.985 million under the hammer today at a Henderson auction room. Mr Bowden paid $2.55 million for the 3500sq m property in February 2013 and it has a current CV of $2.6 million.

Matt Bowden's clifftop Torbay property comes with a two-bedroom turreted bach. Photo / Brett Phibbs
Matt Bowden's clifftop Torbay property comes with a two-bedroom turreted bach. Photo / Brett Phibbs

It came with a two-bedroom turreted "lighthouse" bach that was used as a holiday home by the previous owner. Mr Bowden had hoped to build a dream home and rehabilitation centre on the site before a law change torpedoed the legal highs industry, sending his business into liquidation.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Another of Mr Bowden's properties - a four-bedroom 1960s house at 66 Carlisle Rd in Browns Bay - was also forcibly sold today, fetching $895,000. It has a CV of $750,000.

A third property - a modern four-bedroom home on the rural outskirts of Auckland with a CV of $1.46 million - is due to be sold by mortgagee sale on Friday.

Mr Bowden is known for introducing party pills to New Zealand. He later moved into importing and manufacturing synthetic cannabis. He also makes music under the stage name Starboy.

His Stargate Operations company is in liquidation owing $1.42 million to unsecured creditors, and First Mortgage Trust put the three properties owned by Mr Bowden and his wife Kristi up for mortgagee sale earlier this year.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Speaking moments after the hammer fell on the Cliff Rd property, Mr Bowden said he was "shocked" at the sale price. He had expected the property to at least sell for CV.

He told the Herald he had investors who wanted him to develop medical marijuana products, "so selling the properties will help me get closer to that".

"Feels like I got punished for synthetic cannabis products that weren't mine, and I obviously ruffled feathers speaking out against alcohol. But at the end of the day money has never been important to me and moving forwards we will continue to operate in the community's interest, building not for profit projects, that is my direction for future research."

Harcourts agent David Savery said the Cliff Rd phone-bidding buyer was a "well known Auckland property investor" in the hotel industry who planned to landbank the property.

Discover more

Tax

Legal-highs empire under the hammer

17 Jul 05:00 PM
New Zealand

Crash victim ex-pike miner

28 Jul 07:12 PM
Business

Local buys party pill godfather's house

31 Jul 02:47 AM
Economy

Have property prices finally peaked?

04 Aug 11:08 PM

"He believed there's only so much waterfront land close to Auckland CBD which is a blank canvass and that's what attracted him to the site. The dream hasn't been realised [yet].

"He may look to develop himself but more than likely he will landbank and hold it as an investment."

Asked about the selling price, Mr Savery said the property sold at the reserve threshold.

Mortgagee sales were rare with Auckland's current buoyant housing market but often attracted a discount. The property had been well marketed over four weeks. Thirty parties viewed it during open homes and there were nine registered bidders.

"Sometimes there's a discount associated with the mortgagee process and I'd suggest we had relatively short settlement terms here you had to meet and a very much 'as is where is' with no vendor warrantees, so it has affected the purchase price."

Potential buyers also had to consider the cost and logistics of building on a clifftop site, Mr Savery said.

"The vendor had tried to sell the property prior to the bank getting involved and hadn't been able to successfully."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Mr Bowden, who has two young children, previously told the Herald his lab had been sold by liquidators along with with his recording studio, costume company and other assets.

He said he was now living "frugally" and considering a move overseas.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Business

Premium
BusinessUpdated

Butlers Chocolate Cafe closes: What went wrong, who’s owed money?

13 Jul 11:10 PM
Premium
Analysis

American allies want to redraw the world’s trade map, minus the US

13 Jul 11:04 PM
Premium
PropertyUpdated

'Extremely rare move' – consultant has developer put into receivership

13 Jul 11:00 PM

Audi offers a sporty spin on city driving with the A3 Sportback and S3 Sportback

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Business

Premium
Butlers Chocolate Cafe closes: What went wrong, who’s owed money?

Butlers Chocolate Cafe closes: What went wrong, who’s owed money?

13 Jul 11:10 PM

Butlers Chocolate Cafe closed its New Zealand stores after 18 years.

Premium
American allies want to redraw the world’s trade map, minus the US

American allies want to redraw the world’s trade map, minus the US

13 Jul 11:04 PM
Premium
'Extremely rare move' – consultant has developer put into receivership

'Extremely rare move' – consultant has developer put into receivership

13 Jul 11:00 PM
Premium
'Deserves a second chance': New Zealand firm revives East Imperial

'Deserves a second chance': New Zealand firm revives East Imperial

13 Jul 11:00 PM
Gold demand soars amid global turmoil
sponsored

Gold demand soars amid global turmoil

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP