Funds associated with Caydon Property Group are believed to be behind the unconditional transaction which has turned a tidy $7 million capital gain for Creative Wealth.

It was the site of clothing manufacturer Fletcher Jones' large city store from the mid-1950s until recently.

Creative Wealth is controlled by Malaysian interests associated with Queensland investor Peter Griffiths.

It purchased the 1873 Cobden Buildings at 1-5 Queen Street on the corner of Flinders Street in 2013 and gained a planning permit for a 25-storey development on the site after a contest in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal over the tower's likely overshadowing of the nearby Yarra River.

Caydon director Joe Russo was contacted for comment.

Teska Carson agent Larry Takis, who handled the sale, declined to comment.

Caydon Group's investors are expected to develop a hotel on the site to take advantage of its proximity to Crown Casino and the Yarra River, industry sources suggest.

Mr Russo has multiple projects under way. His massive staged redevelopment of the Nylex clock site in Richmond ran afoul of the Yarra Council, which rejected the first development stage.

A decision on Caydon's VCAT appeal is imminent.

The same development was also refused a permit for demolition by Heritage Victoria. It includes huge silos on the bank of the Yarra River next to the Monash Freeway and Barrett & Burston's former malthouse.

The hearing for that case has been adjourned to an unconfirmed date.

This year, former premier Jeff Kennett savaged the Nylex proposal as "an overdeveloped under-designed monster".