Lim Bee Huat’s daughter acquires Lornie Road bungalow for $26.8mil

Lim Bee Huat’s daughter acquires Lornie Road bungalow for $26.8mil

Cheryl Chiew • October 15, 2021

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Lim Bee Huat’s daughter is purchasing the 10,529 sq ft freehold property along Lornie Road for $26.9 million. Lee Bee Huat is the founder of the Kopitiam Group. Source: Google Maps

A fairly new bungalow at Lornie Road is being acquired by the daughter of Lim Bee Huat of Kopitiam King fame for $26.8 million, reported The Business Times (BT).

This works out to $2,545 per sq ft (psf), which is considered to be on the high side for the 10,529 sq ft freehold site within the Caldecott Hill Estate Good Class Bungalow (GCB) Area.

“This is even after adjusting for the fact that the house is quite new. Moreover, the property is quite near the road/highway,” a property investor told BT.

“Working backwards, the land price would be about S$1,600 psf.”

In comparison, Ian Ang acquired a bungalow in Olive Road in the same GCB area, for $1,537 psf or $36 million in June. The Secretlab co-founder reportedly intends to tear down the existing bungalow and redevelop the 23,424 sq ft site into a new home.

Putting things in perspective, however, the investor pointed that the Lornie Road bungalow is a completed property that is nicely decked out.

The bungalow, which is nestled on a slightly elevated site, is a reconstruction that kept a small part of an existing structure.

BT noted that a pair of siblings is selling the property.

Realstar Premier, which acted for them, revealed that the bungalow “received a Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) in 2017 with a further TOP issued in 2019 following the completion of additional works”, said BT.

The two-storey bungalow also has a basement and two attics, one of which was part of the former property and the other newly built.

The basement has a wine cellar, powder room and a theatre room. All four bedrooms on the second floor are en suite, and have walk-in wardrobes.

With a built-in area of around 16,500 sq ft, the bungalow also has an entertainment room, two dining areas, dry and wet kitchens as well as a water feature. The property does not come with a swimming pool.

“The high psf also reflects the ‘bite-sized’ absolute price,” said the investor as quoted by BT.

Lim Bee Huat, the father of the buyer, worked as a part-time coffee boy when he was only nine years old before eventually building the Kopitiam empire.

NTUC Enterprise announced in 2018 that it is acquiring all of Kopitiam Investment and its subsidiaries, which include 80 outlets consisting of 56 food courts, three hawker centres, 21 coffee shops and two central kitchens. These also included the Lau Pa Sat Festival Market within the Central Business District that Kopitiam acquired in 1995.

A search on the Handshakes portal showed that Kopitiam Investment is currently owned by Fairprice Group Food Services, said BT.

https://www.propertyguru.com.sg/prop...ow-for-26-8mil

Family of Kopitiam King buys Lornie Road GCB for S$26.8m

Oct 15, 2021

THE family of Lim Bee Huat of Kopitiam King fame is buying a fairly new bungalow along Lornie Road for S$26.8 million.

The price of S$2,545 per square foot, albeit on a relatively small freehold land area of 10,529 sq ft, is seen as being on the high side for the Caldecott Hill Estate Good Class Bungalow (GCB) Area.

"This is even after adjusting for the fact that the house is quite new. Moreover, the property is quite near the road/highway," said a property investor.

"Working backwards, the land price would be about S$1,600 psf," he added.

In comparison, Secretlab co-founder Ian Ang paid S$1,537 psf (amounting to S$36 million) for a bungalow in Olive Road, within the same GCB Area, in June this year. He plans to tear down the existing bungalow and redevelop the 23,424 sq ft plot into a new house, based on earlier media reports.

However, putting things in perspective, the investor pointed to a key attraction of the Lornie Road bungalow that is being bought by Lim's daughter, who is in her 20s: it is a completed property and nicely decked out.

Standing on a slightly elevated site, the bungalow is a reconstruction that retained a small part of an existing structure, based on an earlier story.

The bungalow is being sold by a pair of siblings. Realstar Premier, which acted for them, said that the bungalow received a Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) in 2017 with a further TOP issued in 2019 following the completion of additional works.

The property has 2 storeys as well as a basement and 2 attics (one was part of the earlier property while the other was newly built).

The basement includes a theatre room, wine cellar and powder room. All 4 bedrooms on the second level are ensuite and with their own walk-in wardrobes. The home has dry and wet kitchens, 2 dining areas, an entertainment room and a water feature - though there is no swimming pool. The built-in area is about 16,500 sq ft.

"The high psf also reflects the 'bite-sized' absolute price," said the investor.

Lim Bee Huat, the buyer's father, began working as a part-time kopi kia (coffee boy) when he was just 9 years old and went on to build the Kopitiam empire. In 2018, NTUC Enterprise announced that it is buying all of Kopitiam Investment and its subsidiaries - spanning 80 outlets comprising 56 food courts, 21 coffee shops and 3 hawker centres, as well as 2 central kitchens. These included the Lau Pa Sat Festival Market in the Central Business District which Kopitiam acquired in 1995.

According to a search on the Handshakes portal, Kopitiam Investment is now owned by Fairprice Group Food Services.

Bungalows in the 39 gazetted GCB Areas have to comply with stringent planning conditions stipulated by the Urban Redevelopment Authority to preserve their exclusivity and low-rise character. Among other things, a minimum plot size of 1,400 square metres (about 15,070 sq ft) is stipulated as the planning norm for newly-created bungalows in GCB areas.

One generally has to be a Singapore citizen to be allowed to acquire a landed property in a GCB Area.

List Sotheby's International Realty's analysis of URA Realis caveats data downloaded on Oct 14 shows 75 transactions in GCB Areas totalling S$2.16 billion year to date (with the latest deal, the Lornie Road transaction, dated Sept 30).

The whole of 2020 saw 46 deals amounting to S$1.09 billion.