CDL and Wachovia in $432 million Cliveden at Grange deal
City Developments Ltd (CDL) and USbased Wachovia Group have formed a joint venture to buy two tower blocks at CDL’s luxury Cliveden at Grange for $432.4 million. Under the agreement, Wachovia Development Corp (WDC) will take a 60% stake and CDL will hold the rest through subsidiary City Venture Properties (CVP) in the venture, called Grange 100. The tower blocks have 22 units each. The average price for all units purchased is $3,750 psf. Cliveden at Grange, near Orchard Road, has four 24-storey towers with three- (2,153 sq ft) and four-bedroom (2,842 sq ft) apartments.
Suntec REIT pays $24.9 million for Suntec City office space
Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust has executed the option to acquire 11,786 sq ft of office strata space in Suntec City Tower Two for $24.9 million, or $2,115 psf. The units will generate a net property yield of more than 5%. Yeo See Kiat, CEO of the REIT’s manager ARA Suntec, says the trust would continue to buy more office space in Suntec City. “However, we will not chase up prices and will acquire only if they offer positive yields and growth potential,” he says.
URA launches Glam shophouses
URA has launched a commercial site at Jalan Sultan for sale by public tender after receiving a committed developer bid for at least $7.8 million. There are 17 two-storey conservation buildings on the 0.14ha site in the Kampong Glam Historic District. The shophouses, suitable for hotel or office use, must be restored and reconstructed by the buyer. The tender closes at noon on Jan 22, 2008. Meanwhile, URA has closed the tender for the 124,000 sq ft transitional office site at Tampines Concourse- Tampines Avenue 5. Glades Properties has offered a bid of $10 million.
Strong demand for Japan-focused REIT’s IPO
Saizen REIT’s IPO has attracted strong investor response. At the Nov 5 close, the IPO of 10 million units (excluding 8.7 million reserved units) at $1 each was 20 times subscribed. The international placement of 178,000 units was 1.5 times subscribed. Saizen is Singapore’s first REIT with purely Japanese assets and focused on Japanese regional residential properties.
OFFSHORE
DTZ acquires JJ Barnicke for $41 million
London Stock Exchange-listed DTZ Holdings announced last Friday that it had acquired JJ Barnicke Ltd, Canada’s largest independently owned real estate services company, for C$26.6 million ($41 million).
The Toronto-headquartered JJ Barnicke will be renamed DTZ Barnicke with immediate effect, and Chris Ridabock, former president of JJ Barnicke, has been appointed CEO. Joseph J Barnicke, who founded the company in 1959, will remain chairman for the transition period.
JJ Barnicke has 17 owned and affiliated offices across Canada and 450 employees, including 300 real estate professionals. For the year ended Dec 31, 2006, JJ Barnicke’s pre-tax earnings were C$3.8 million.
The acquisition will further expand DTZ’s footprint in North America and comes on top of its investment in Boston-based DTZ FHO Partners in August, and DTZ’s acquisition of a 50% stake in New York-headquartered DTZ Rockwood last year.
Pegasus Town apartment launch in Singapore
Colliers is launching the high-end New Zealand development Pegasus Yacht Club Apartments at an exhibition at the Hilton Hotel in Singapore on Nov 17 and 18. The coastal township of Pegasus Town is 25km from Christchurch. Developed by the local Infinity Investment Group, it has 56 three-bedroom apartments measuring 1,561 to 3,391 sq ft. Prices start from $1.029 million. Late last year, Infinity released to investors in Singapore 35 bungalow plots at Pegasus Town. All were sold, with 73% bought by Singaporeans.
GE buys prime Taiwan office building
Savills has completed a US$21.1 million ($30 million) sale-and-leaseback deal for GE Real Estate Investment Holdings in Taiwan. The prime 44,025 sq ft, 12-storey office building (below) is in Taiwan’s Nan Jing commercial area and is the headquarters of the seller, Hocheng Corp, a public-listed company in Taipei. The property purchase is GE’s first in Taiwan.
Meanwhile, Polaris Financial Group acquired TaiPing First Building, a prime commercial property in Taipei’s Xinyi district, from Mass Mutual Mercuries Life, a joint venture between Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co and Mercuries & Associates Ltd in a deal also brokered by Savills. The size of the building is 10,156.58 sq m, and valued at NT$1.2 billion ($54 million). It is located in the prime Xinyi CBD next to the Taipei City Hall MTR station exit.
IHG posts big hotel gains
InterContinental Hotels Group has reported a 22% increase in operating profit in 3Q, from £54 million ($163 million) to £66 million. Total gross revenue from all hotels was up 13% to US$4.6 billion. Asia-Pacific was the best-performing region in revenue per available room, increasing 8.6%. Operating profit in the region soared from US$8 million to US$14 million. During the quarter, IHG signed nearly 29,400 rooms, including 4,500 in Asia-Pacific. In Greater China, 12 hotels (3,653 rooms) were signed, comprising five Crowne Plazas, five Holiday Inns and two Holiday Inn Expresses.