BBR in talks to buy Holland Crest for $75m

Published March 9, 2007

BBR in talks to buy Holland Crest for $75m

By KALPANA RASHIWALA


BBR Holdings is said to be negotiating a deal to buy Holland Crest for about $75 million. This works out to over $880 psf of potential gross floor area. No development charge is payable.

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The unit land price being paid for the 52,743 sq ft freehold site is higher than the $750 psf per plot ratio that MCL Land and Ho Bee paid in November last year for Holland Hill Mansions, just a stone's throw away.

The price that BBR is reportedly negotiating for Holland Crest is also about 60 per cent higher than the $550 psf ppr that MCL had paid for another property in the vicinity, Waterfall Gardens and a couple of smaller adjoining sites at Farrer Rd, in February last year. Some property market watchers rank the Waterfall Gardens site as the choicest of the three because of its proximity to Botanic Gardens and as it is on higher grounds.

All three sites are zoned for residential use with 1.6 plot ratio (ratio of maximum potential gross floor area to land area) and 12-storey maximum height.

Knight Frank, which is marketing Holland Crest, had said last month at the time of the site's launch that the regular-shaped site currently houses 41 units with sizes ranging from 92 square metres to 222 square metres. The expression of interest for Holland Crest closed on March 6.

BBR Holdings, which is involved in construction, specialist engineering and property development, reported a net profit attributable to equity-holders of $2.44 million for its financial year ended Dec 31, 2006, a 10 per cent rise from 2005. Revenue for the year fell 18 per cent to $101.1 million as a result of lower-value projects. However, these yielded better gross margins.