mr funny
06-01-11, 18:27
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/news/story/0,4574,420490,00.html?
Published January 6, 2011
Ogilvy site draws $86m top bid
Royal Group leads with offer of $1,072 psf ppr, with plans for 200-room hotel
By EMILYN YAP
OGILVY Centre, the landmark conservation building at the junction of Robinson Road and Boon Tat Street, is set to get a makeover. Built to the neoclassical style, the property will soon have at least 200 hotel rooms, as well as upmarket restaurants and retailers on the ground floor.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2011-01-06/BT_IMAGES_EYOGILVY6.jpg
Hot property: The tender for the landmark conservation site exceeded expectations, with seven other players in the fray. Five of the 8 bids topped the $50m mark, estimated last October when the site was triggered for sale
Royal Group Holdings - linked to Asok Kumar Hiranandani of Royal Brothers - has big plans for the site opposite Lau Pa Sat, after putting in the top bid of $86 million or $1,072 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) in a state tender.
This is one of the highest bids seen for hotel plots recently, and markedly exceeded expectations.
Seven other property players were in the fray when the tender closed yesterday. Oxley Holdings submitted the second highest bid of $72 million or $898 psf ppr, which is 16 per cent less than the top bid.
RB Capital - led by Mr Hiranandani's nephew Kishin - was the third highest bidder with an offer of $71.1 million or $887 psf ppr.
The other bidders were Fragrance Group, Sin Heng Chan, a unit of Far East Organization, and a unit of Overseas Union Enterprise.
All the tender participants chose to bid for the site on a 60-year lease term even though the 30-year option was available.
Royal Group has plans for a five-star hotel with at least 200 rooms. Daily room rates could be at least $280-300, while rents for retail space could range from $20-30 psf.
The location of the plot and the scarcity of conservation sites for hotel use justified the aggressiveness of the bid, Mr Hiranandani told BT. 'The only competition I have for this product is going to be Fullerton Hotel and Fullerton Bay Hotel,' he said.
Mr Hiranandani's son Bobby will be overseeing the project, and the hotel could be ready in two years' time.
The site has a maximum permissable gross floor area of 80,191 sq ft. The developer will have to retain the existing four-storey conservation building, but the rear part of the building may be demolished, redeveloped, and integrated as a new five-storey extension.
When an unnamed developer first triggered the site for sale in October last year, the market had expected the top bid to perhaps cross $50 million. Yesterday's results far exceeded the estimates - five of the eight bids exceeded that figure.
The historical value of the site could have led to the high bids, said Knight Frank head of consultancy and research Png Poh Soon. In addition, with visitor numbers growing, 'people are more willing to go ahead with such tender prices.'
Competition for hospitality assets seems to be heating up, he added. In August last year, the top bid for a hotel site at Clemenceau Avenue was $101.1 million or $813 psf ppr, far surpassing analysts' projections.
Published January 6, 2011
Ogilvy site draws $86m top bid
Royal Group leads with offer of $1,072 psf ppr, with plans for 200-room hotel
By EMILYN YAP
OGILVY Centre, the landmark conservation building at the junction of Robinson Road and Boon Tat Street, is set to get a makeover. Built to the neoclassical style, the property will soon have at least 200 hotel rooms, as well as upmarket restaurants and retailers on the ground floor.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2011-01-06/BT_IMAGES_EYOGILVY6.jpg
Hot property: The tender for the landmark conservation site exceeded expectations, with seven other players in the fray. Five of the 8 bids topped the $50m mark, estimated last October when the site was triggered for sale
Royal Group Holdings - linked to Asok Kumar Hiranandani of Royal Brothers - has big plans for the site opposite Lau Pa Sat, after putting in the top bid of $86 million or $1,072 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) in a state tender.
This is one of the highest bids seen for hotel plots recently, and markedly exceeded expectations.
Seven other property players were in the fray when the tender closed yesterday. Oxley Holdings submitted the second highest bid of $72 million or $898 psf ppr, which is 16 per cent less than the top bid.
RB Capital - led by Mr Hiranandani's nephew Kishin - was the third highest bidder with an offer of $71.1 million or $887 psf ppr.
The other bidders were Fragrance Group, Sin Heng Chan, a unit of Far East Organization, and a unit of Overseas Union Enterprise.
All the tender participants chose to bid for the site on a 60-year lease term even though the 30-year option was available.
Royal Group has plans for a five-star hotel with at least 200 rooms. Daily room rates could be at least $280-300, while rents for retail space could range from $20-30 psf.
The location of the plot and the scarcity of conservation sites for hotel use justified the aggressiveness of the bid, Mr Hiranandani told BT. 'The only competition I have for this product is going to be Fullerton Hotel and Fullerton Bay Hotel,' he said.
Mr Hiranandani's son Bobby will be overseeing the project, and the hotel could be ready in two years' time.
The site has a maximum permissable gross floor area of 80,191 sq ft. The developer will have to retain the existing four-storey conservation building, but the rear part of the building may be demolished, redeveloped, and integrated as a new five-storey extension.
When an unnamed developer first triggered the site for sale in October last year, the market had expected the top bid to perhaps cross $50 million. Yesterday's results far exceeded the estimates - five of the eight bids exceeded that figure.
The historical value of the site could have led to the high bids, said Knight Frank head of consultancy and research Png Poh Soon. In addition, with visitor numbers growing, 'people are more willing to go ahead with such tender prices.'
Competition for hospitality assets seems to be heating up, he added. In August last year, the top bid for a hotel site at Clemenceau Avenue was $101.1 million or $813 psf ppr, far surpassing analysts' projections.