Allgreen to pay $24m for Hup Cheong Mansions

June 11, 2007

OPTION FOR COLLECTIVE DEAL

Allgreen to pay $24m for Hup Cheong Mansions


ALLGREEN Properties has secured an option to buy Hup Cheong Mansions, a condominium near St Michael's Road, for $24 million.

The property is located on Mar Thoma Road. It has a 999-year leasehold tenure and has an area of 30,440 sq ft.

On the heels of its successful Blossoms@Woodleigh and Cairnhill Residences launches this year, Allgreen plans to redevelop the property into a condominium of 75 units, each with an area of 1,184 sq ft, if the deal gets regulatory approval.

The mainboard-listed company has paid 1 per cent of the purchase price to Hup Cheong's owners, and will pay another 9 per cent when the option is exercised. The rest of the $24 million 'will be payable upon completion', it said in a statement last Saturday.

This is the latest in a string of buys for the company in the St Michael's area.

Last month, an Allgreen subsidiary called Green Bay inked deals to buy three properties nearby for a total of $15 million: Kai Sheng Court, 21 Mar Thoma Road and 23 Mar Thoma Road.

The acquisition of Hup Cheong Mansions will be financed by internal funds, bank loans or both, said the developer.

The purchase is 'not expected to have any material impact on the consolidated earnings and net tangible assets per share of the Allgreen group for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2007', said the company.

Allgreen's net profit for the first three months of this year quadrupled to $49.6 million from $12.1 million a year ago, as revenue soared 161.5 per cent to $181.2 million. In addition to contributions from its Blossoms@Woodleigh and Cairnhill Residences developments, the property group enjoyed higher occupancy and rental rates at its Great World City office and retail units and service apartments.

Higher occupancy and rates at Traders Hotel also boosted its bottom line.

Buoyed by Singapore's residential and commercial property boom, Allgreen shares have more than doubled in value in the past 12 months, rising from around 92 cents in July last year to last week's close of $1.99 a share.

ERICA TAY