Sim Lim Tower shop unit put up for sale

MAR 21, 2017

Ground-floor unit owned by OCBC is freehold; indicative price is $16.19 million

Wong Siew Ying


A freehold ground-floor shop unit at Sim Lim Tower in Jalan Besar owned by OCBC Bank has been put up for sale via public tender, with an indicative price of $16.19 million.

Its marketing agent CBRE yesterday said the guide price works out to about $3,300 per sq ft (psf) based on a strata area of 4,908 sq ft.

The unit, which has approval for food and beverage use, enjoys main road shop frontage and is occupied by two tenants: Money Express and an electronics hardware shop.

Money Express' tenancy expires at the end of December, while the other shop's tenancy will cease at the end of March next year.

OCBC Bank told The Straits Times it acquired the space - which comprises two partitioned shop units under a single legal title - in 1980. It had a branch at one of the units until the first quarter of 2015.

CBRE said the large unit is ideal for uses such as shop, restaurant, fitness centre, banking hall, showroom, home and living as well as lifestyle businesses. The freehold tenure and potential yield return would appeal to investors, it added.

Ms Sammi Lim, director for capital markets at CBRE, said: "Due to the limited supply, we are confident the launch will garner keen interest among end-users and savvy investors from both local and foreign buyers who are... eager to acquire prime retail space."

No ground-floor shop unit at Sim Lim Tower has been sold in the past five years, Ms Lim added.

Recent transactions of ground- floor shops in the vicinity included a space at The Bencoolen, which was sold for $5,002 psf last April, and another shop at nearby Sim Lim Square, which transacted at $4,407 psf in March last year.

OCBC Bank said it reviews its overall property holdings from time to time for opportunities to "unlock value".

"The majority of these were bought by OCBC Bank and its subsidiaries in the last 10 to 30 years. When we receive satisfactory offers, we will consider divesting the investment properties," noted Mr Richard Tay, head of corporate services at OCBC Property Services.

Sim Lim Tower is near Bugis MRT station and will be next to the upcoming Jalan Besar MRT station on the Downtown Line.

As the unit is under commercial property zoning, both local and foreigners are eligible to purchase with no additional buyer's stamp duty and no seller's stamp duty on the purchase of the property, CBRE noted. The tender exercise closes April 18.