DAYS after spending his 60th birthday in jail, insider trader Rene Rivkin was on the hunt around Sydney yesterday for new, cheaper office space.

He was spotted looking at office space in the eastern suburbs’ Rushcutters Bay, a rare sighting for the now reclusive businessman.

The Rivkin Group, which has suffered the same drop in fortunes as its founder, is expected to move into cheaper office space in Rushcutters Bay shortly.

The group, which has reportedly cut its staff from 35 to about six, is expected to save about $2000 a week in rent by moving from nearby Double Bay, where the rent is reported to be $3000 a week.

Suffering from severe depression, Rivkin has been a virtual recluse since the Australian Securities & Investments Commission began investigating his role in the scandal over Offset Alpine, the Sydney printing company that burnt down in 1993, triggering a $53 million insurance payout.

After failing to overturn his conviction for insider trading of Qantas shares, Rivkin has been serving out his weekend detention in thehospital wing at Long Bay jail in southern Sydney.

He is being kept under close observation during his detention periods, and authorities say he is considered to be at risk of self- harm.

He is now almost halfway through his sentence of 39 weekends.

Last Sunday, Rivkin spent the morning of his 60th birthday in Long Bay before being picked up from the prison by his wife at about 12.30pm.

Mrs Rivkin said the couple would be celebrating Rene’s birthday, and their 32nd wedding anniversary, quietly at their home in Point Piper.

It was a long way from the celebrity bash at the upmarket Machiavelli restaurant the previous year.

Mrs Rivkin told The Australian this week the extravagant parties were a thing of the past. “That was the old Rene,” she said. “Thenew Rene is just very depressed.”

In December, Rivkin had to hand in his broker’s licence. He is also in the process of selling his $15million home and $6 million boat, while his fleet of more than 100 expensive cars has mostly already been sold. He has also been plagued with illness, having suffered not just from severe depression but also had surgery for a brain tumour and treatment for bladder problems and deep vein thrombosis.