Katong Plaza is purchased by Fragrance Group for S$180 million
Katong Plaza is purchased by Fragrance Group for S$180 million
This corresponds to a land rate per plot ratio of S$1,809 per square foot.
October 2, 2024
CONDOsingapore.com
According to market sources, Katong Plaza was sold to Fragrance Group for S$180 million.
For the freehold site in District 15, this corresponds to a land rate of S$1,809 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr).
Terence Lian, head of investment sales at Huttons Asia, mediated the transaction. Lian refused to verify the buyer's identity.
There are 14 residential apartments and 132 retail spaces in Katong Plaza. While residential owners will receive between S$2 million and S$5.1 million, retail unit owners stand to receive between S$502,000 and over S$6 million, according to Lian.
"As developers continue to pursue appealing land parcels, we believe this sale will boost confidence in the collective sale market," he stated.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority has given Katong Plaza outline permission to be converted into a hotel, even though it is currently zoned for commercial and residential use.
In May, it was listed for sale at a guide price of S$188 million, which included an approximate S$6 million land improvement fee.
Depending on size, the planned hotel development could have anywhere from 300 to 340 rooms.
With a maximum gross floor area of 102,132 square feet, Katong Plaza occupies a land area of 34,044 square feet (sq ft) and a gross plot ratio of three.
Entities connected to James Koh, the founder and chairman of the Fragrance Group, paid close to S$101 million last October for two freehold industrial buildings.
A five-story property at 3 New Industrial Road in the Upper Paya Lebar-Bartley neighbourhood cost him S$61 million. The other property, located at 3 Kallang Pudding Road, was purchased by Koh for almost S$40 million.
Koh owns office, industrial, hospitality, and other assets, mostly in Singapore, through a number of privately held companies. In 2021, he privatised the Fragrance Group, which was listed on the Singapore Exchange.
The former Tower 15 location at 15 Hoe Chiang Road is currently being redeveloped by Fragrance Group into a hotel and serviced apartments.
The Roxy Square tender ended without any bids last Thursday, September 26. The Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel and Roxy Square Shopping Centre are part of the massive freehold mixed-use development, which was put up for sale with a minimum asking price of S$1.25 billion. This represents a gross plot ratio of 3.86 and a land rate of roughly S$2,094 psf ppr, including the land betterment charge.
On its website, Roxy-Pacific Holdings states that it owns the hotel and 56 of the 296 stores in Roxy Square Shopping Centre.
According to JLL, talks with a few parties are still going on as the collective sale enters the 10-week private treaty process.
A fourth en-bloc attempt was made last July by the freehold Katong Shopping Centre, with a reserve price of S$638 million, or S$2,277 per square foot. The tender for the mixed-use development closed in August of last year with no bidders.
Although a number of additional hotel assets were listed for sale, none have yet to be purchased.
In May, Schroders and TPG Angelo Gordon, private equity owners, put the three-star Travelodge Harbourfront Singapore up for sale for S$320 million. This amounts to approximately S$950,000 per key for the 336-room hotel. According to Julien Naouri, senior vice-president of investment sales at JLL, the hotel's marketing agency, a few parties have shown interest in the establishment and are negotiating a private treaty.
In the same month, the Sandpiper Hotel in Little India went up for sale for S$33 million, or S$1.06 million per key. A freehold hotel on Killiney Road was listed for sale in April by private equity firm Lucrum Capital for S$195 million, or S$1.7 million per room.
