Inner city haven - for $10m

David Henderson needs a buyer for his huge Princes Wharf apartment above the Hilton Hotel. Photo / Doug Sherring

It is New Zealand's largest apartment and has a valuation of $10 million.

Cash-strapped property developer David Henderson has been on the lookout for a buyer for his enormous penthouse above the Hilton Hotel on Auckland's Princes Wharf for about two years, with no success.

But now a campaign has begun in earnest to sell it, and real estate agency Bayleys has been appointed to pull out all the stops and find a new owner.

At 880sq m with another 250sq m of decks, Bayleys says the apartment is more than 50 per cent bigger than the country's next largest penthouse suites at the Sentinel on the North Shore.

Henderson said a recent valuation put the property's worth at $10 million.

But because he has been the only owner since he developed it 10 years ago and there is nothing on the market to compare it with, the selling price will be anyone's guess.

The leasehold property takes out all of the top floor of the Hilton building. It features six bedrooms and five bathrooms including a separate guest wing with its own kitchen, an infinity pool, a temperature-controlled wine cellar, full bar, two private lifts and a commercial-sized kitchen with coolstore.

The huge master bedroom has a his-and-hers en suite and a wardrobe the size of a boutique clothes store.

There are three living areas and a games room.

The main lounge is shaped like the bow of a ship and commands panoramic views over the Waitemata Harbour.

Henderson said it was not his original intention to build such a large apartment.

He would have put three apartments on the site but restrictions because of the working wharves below meant it was not possible to have one on the east side.

He has looked into splitting it in two but "at the moment it's probably better to sell it as one".

Currently fending off a bid for his bankruptcy, Henderson denied his financial woes were behind the urgency to sell.

"It's not creditor-pushed at all but I just want to kind of get on with doing other things.

"The reality is it's been too big for me for a very long time. With a part-time son and a girlfriend, it's a nightmare to live in because you need people."

The property would appeal to somebody who wanted a large home in the city but without extensive grounds.

That may suit an overseas buyer, he believed. "New Zealanders haven't really adapted to making apartments their home."

He also denied the building had any weathertightness issues. It was an exposed site and remedial work needed to be done. The windows at the north end are being resealed.

Bayleys agent Duncan Ritchie said it was difficult to tell how much the property would go for.

As a guide, property on Princes Wharf was currently worth between $5000 and $8500 a sq m, he said.

The apartment was large by New Zealand standards but there were apartments of that size in other countries. "People who like large houses like large apartments."

The agency's Auckland team was working on the sale.