reporter2
09-06-14, 15:42
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/archive/tuesday/premium/companies/others/valencias-old-stadium-excites-rowsley-20140603
Published June 03, 2014
Valencia's old stadium excites Rowsley
With Peter Lim's takeover of club, firm has a shot at redevelopment
By anita gabriel
[email protected] @AnitaGabrielBT
SINGAPOREAN magnate Peter Lim's takeover victory of Spanish football club Valencia could potentially give Rowsley, a Singapore-listed firm he controls, a clear shot at redeveloping the old stadium which sits on prime land.
Rowsley chief executive officer Lock Wai Han told BT in an interview - his first since he took over Rowsley's helm six months ago - that the firm is indeed eyeing several openings that have arisen now that one of Europe's top football clubs is in Mr Lim's bag.
Top on Rowsley's wish list is to get a stab at redeveloping Valencia's old 55,000-seat Mestalla stadium, dubbed one of Europe's greatest stadiums and located in the dense neighbourhood close to the historic city centre or in real estate speak, "prime land".
"We see consultancy and real estate opportunities that may open up for us, so we are submitting a proposal (to Mr Lim) for a feasibility study to get involved in the project," said Mr Lock.
The potential Valencia-related jobs could come from two fronts for Rowsley, which has just put its struggling past behind and turned in $1.8 million net profit in the January-March period from a $4.7 million loss a year ago, thanks to last September's buyout of RSP Architects Planners and Engineers.
For one thing, Mr Lock is hopeful that Rowsley can help work with the existing architect to add the finishing touches to the half-completed new ultra-modern Valencia football stadium where work was stalled in 2009 after the six-time La Liga champions ran into financial woes.
But it's the charm of the old stadium that most excites Rowsley. "It's a fairly large site close to the city centre. It could very well involve a mixed development. What we can build there is very exciting," said Mr Lock, who is quick to add that nothing is firm as yet.
Billionaire Mr Lim, which is Rowsley's largest shareholder, will reportedly pump in 170 million euros (S$290.7 million) to complete work on Valencia's new stadium by 2019.
"With so many architects and engineers, we can certainly provide support. We also have an office in London that can support any work we do in Spain," said Mr Lock, who was formerly CEO of CapitaMall Asia (China).
Even as the real estate firm eyes a shot at the Spanish post, it is keeping a hawk eye at the property market closer to home, across the causeway, to time the launch of its much-awaited Vantage Bay in Malaysia's bustling Iskandar.
The project, which spans 9.23 hectares, just received a key regulatory nod for its first residential development Skies, a two 75-storey tower project in Johor Baru city centre which will boast an unmatched view.
Vantage Bay is nearly ready for launch, but there are market-driven hurdles. Owing to recent property curbs on foreign buyers in Malaysia and a deluge of supply in the residential space, Iskandar's much-touted red hot zone has somewhat lost its sheen as buyers take a wait-and-see attitude.
It is this and expectations of softening property prices that Rowsley is closely monitoring.
"There are some concerns in the current climate where the signals appear mixed and buyers are more cautious.
"We can launch and will be able to sell our quality product in a bad or good market but of course, we want to sell it at a price that can maximise returns to shareholders," said Mr Lock.
Believers of Rowsley's turnaround can't wait either. The launch of the grand $2.2 billion project, another linchpin in the firm's transformation which was put together last September, is likely to further boost the firm's earnings prospects.
Rowsley shares closed trading yesterday unchanged at 28.5 cents.
Published June 03, 2014
Valencia's old stadium excites Rowsley
With Peter Lim's takeover of club, firm has a shot at redevelopment
By anita gabriel
[email protected] @AnitaGabrielBT
SINGAPOREAN magnate Peter Lim's takeover victory of Spanish football club Valencia could potentially give Rowsley, a Singapore-listed firm he controls, a clear shot at redeveloping the old stadium which sits on prime land.
Rowsley chief executive officer Lock Wai Han told BT in an interview - his first since he took over Rowsley's helm six months ago - that the firm is indeed eyeing several openings that have arisen now that one of Europe's top football clubs is in Mr Lim's bag.
Top on Rowsley's wish list is to get a stab at redeveloping Valencia's old 55,000-seat Mestalla stadium, dubbed one of Europe's greatest stadiums and located in the dense neighbourhood close to the historic city centre or in real estate speak, "prime land".
"We see consultancy and real estate opportunities that may open up for us, so we are submitting a proposal (to Mr Lim) for a feasibility study to get involved in the project," said Mr Lock.
The potential Valencia-related jobs could come from two fronts for Rowsley, which has just put its struggling past behind and turned in $1.8 million net profit in the January-March period from a $4.7 million loss a year ago, thanks to last September's buyout of RSP Architects Planners and Engineers.
For one thing, Mr Lock is hopeful that Rowsley can help work with the existing architect to add the finishing touches to the half-completed new ultra-modern Valencia football stadium where work was stalled in 2009 after the six-time La Liga champions ran into financial woes.
But it's the charm of the old stadium that most excites Rowsley. "It's a fairly large site close to the city centre. It could very well involve a mixed development. What we can build there is very exciting," said Mr Lock, who is quick to add that nothing is firm as yet.
Billionaire Mr Lim, which is Rowsley's largest shareholder, will reportedly pump in 170 million euros (S$290.7 million) to complete work on Valencia's new stadium by 2019.
"With so many architects and engineers, we can certainly provide support. We also have an office in London that can support any work we do in Spain," said Mr Lock, who was formerly CEO of CapitaMall Asia (China).
Even as the real estate firm eyes a shot at the Spanish post, it is keeping a hawk eye at the property market closer to home, across the causeway, to time the launch of its much-awaited Vantage Bay in Malaysia's bustling Iskandar.
The project, which spans 9.23 hectares, just received a key regulatory nod for its first residential development Skies, a two 75-storey tower project in Johor Baru city centre which will boast an unmatched view.
Vantage Bay is nearly ready for launch, but there are market-driven hurdles. Owing to recent property curbs on foreign buyers in Malaysia and a deluge of supply in the residential space, Iskandar's much-touted red hot zone has somewhat lost its sheen as buyers take a wait-and-see attitude.
It is this and expectations of softening property prices that Rowsley is closely monitoring.
"There are some concerns in the current climate where the signals appear mixed and buyers are more cautious.
"We can launch and will be able to sell our quality product in a bad or good market but of course, we want to sell it at a price that can maximise returns to shareholders," said Mr Lock.
Believers of Rowsley's turnaround can't wait either. The launch of the grand $2.2 billion project, another linchpin in the firm's transformation which was put together last September, is likely to further boost the firm's earnings prospects.
Rowsley shares closed trading yesterday unchanged at 28.5 cents.