The new owners include tech leader Sten Tamkivi and Wise co-founder Taavet Hinrikus.

The Liberty mõis in Rocca al Mare, to the west of the city center, had attracted interest in the past only for the project to fall through, but on Thursday state real estate agency the RKAS found a buyer at auction.

The winning bid of €2.62 million (plus VAT) is known to come from OÜ Notorious, owned by Taavet Hinrikus, Kristina Siimar, Sten Tamkivi, and Martin Tälli.

The 3.6-hectare seaside property had a reserve price of €890,000, and bidding was highly active, with the auction lasting 2.5 hours longer than initially planned as the bids kept coming in.

A total of five bids had met requirements.

The site was originally a part of the Open Air Museum (Eesti Vabaõhumuuseum) complex, but had long remained unused, sometimes serving as a summer camp site for Soviet youth organization the Pioneers.

Over a decade ago the complex was hived off from the Open Air Museum property and transferred to RKAS ownership, with the initial plan to transform it into a presidential residence, during Toomas Hendrik Ilves' second term, but renovation efforts stalled due to failed public procurement processes, mainly because all bids received exceeded the allocated €4.4 million budget.

Ilves' successors, Kersti Kaljulaid, and current incumbent Alar Karis, have not taken up the baton.

As for Notorious OÜ, this was reportedly established in 2005 as an investment firm, with Hinrikus, a Wise co-founder, listed as the ultimate beneficiary.

The estate comprises seven buildings and the foundations of an older building, a summer house which the new owner is required to restore in its original location, size, and appearance by the end of 2027.

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