The Ardmore sold en bloc for $262m

Published May 8, 2007

The Ardmore goes en bloc at $2,000 psf ppr

By KALPANA RASHIWALA


THE Ardmore has joined the list of collective sale sites with asking prices of $2,000 psf per plot ratio (psf ppr) and above.


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Hefty deal: The asking price for The Ardmore is $221.8 million, including an estimated $16.6 million development charge


Knight Frank, which is marketing the 42,565 square foot freehold site at 6 Ardmore Park through an expression-of-interest exercise, says the asking price is $221.8 million, which works out to $2,000 psf ppr including an estimated $16.6 million development charge.

The site is zoned for residential use with a 2.8 plot ratio - the ratio of maximum potential gross floor area to land area - and a 36-storey height limit.

The successful developer can build a project with 42 units averaging 3,000 square feet each, according to Knight Frank.

The closest benchmark in the area is the $1,650 psf ppr achieved for Anderson 18 in March, when City Developments and Wing Tai placed a $477.7 million joint bid for the 112,097 sq ft freehold site.

The highest unit land price achieved so far for residential land is still for The Parisian at Angullia Park, which was clinched by Overseas Union Enterprise for $1,735 psf ppr late last year.

However, that has not stopped en bloc sale owners asking for $2,000 psf ppr or even more.

Last month, Elizabeth Heights, a freehold development in the Cairnhill area, was launched for collective sale with a price tag as high as $2,100 psf ppr.

And the owners of the 99-year leasehold Grangeford Apartments have set a 'guide price' of $2,016 psf ppr, which includes an estimated $97.8 million payable by the site's new owner to the state to restore the site's remaining 66-year lease to 99 years.

Expressions of interest for The Ardmore close on June 12.

The Ardmore

6 Ardmore Park (S) 259953

- Prestigious Ardmore Park address

- Land area: approx. 3,954.4 square metres

- Freehold

- Master Plan plot ratio 2.8; 36 storeys

Closing date 12 June, 2007, 4 pm

Agent: Knight Frank


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The Ardmore sold en bloc for $262m

Posted: 17 June 2007 1311 hrs

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SINGAPORE: The Ardmore residential apartment has been sold en bloc for $262 million.

The owners accepted the offer from Covenson Pte Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SC Global Developments Ltd, said property consultancy firm Knight Frank.

Together with development charge estimated at $16,553,000 the land price rate is $2,337psf per plot ratio.

Among other things, the sale is subject to a Sale Order from Strata Titles Board, if needed.

Located at No. 6 Ardmore Park, The Ardmore is possibly the last plot of land along the coveted Ardmore Park that is available for redevelopment, with the rest either being recently developed or already sold for redevelopment.

The Ardmore comprises one tower block of 24 residential apartments and sits on freehold land that measures 3,954.40sq m.

Under the 2003 Master Plan, the land is zoned for residential use at a plot ratio of 2.8 and a height control of 36 storeys.

The successful developer would be able to build a niche development of 33 units, each with an average size of 4,000 sq ft. - CNA/ir

June 17, 2007

Record price for Ardmore Park condo sold en bloc


AN ARDMORE Park condominium has just smashed the record for the most expensive collective sale in Singapore - less than a week since the last record was set.

The Ardmore, a 24-unit freehold property off Orchard Road, was bought by high-end developer SC Global for $262 million, some $40 million above the initial asking price.

This works out to an eyebrow-raising $2,338 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr), including a $16.6 million development charge. It far surpasses the last record of $1,788 psf ppr set by Char Yong Gardens in Cairnhill last Tuesday.

The Ardmore has also become the first condo here to cross the $2,000 psf ppr mark in a collective sale. Other nearby estates making similar attempts include Grangeford Apartments at Leonie Hill and Elizabeth Heights and Trendale Tower in the Cairnhill area.

With this sale, each owner of The Ardmore - which has mainly three-bedroom units of 1,991 sq ft in size - stands to get about $11 million on average. No units have been transacted in the past two years, and the single unit that changed hands in 2005 went for $904 psf.

Read the full story in Monday's edition of The Straits Times.

SC GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS LTD ACQUIRES PRIME ARDMORE PARK SITE IN S$262 MILLION COLLECTIVE SALE

Published June 18, 2007

Ardmore deal sets new land price benchmark

SC Global clinches coveted site for $262m or $2,337 psf ppr

By KALPANA RASHIWALA


(SINGAPORE) A new record unit land price has been set for residential land in Singapore, toppling the benchmark established just last week. SC Global Developments has bought The Ardmore, with a 42,565-square-foot land area, for $262 million or $2,337 per sq foot (psf) of potential gross floor area including development charges.

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Owners' gain: On average, owners of The Ardmore's existing 24 units will pocket nearly $11 million each

This overtakes the $1,788 psf per plot ratio set for Char Yong Gardens in the Cairnhill location last week.

Both sites are freehold.

SC Global said yesterday that following the acquisition of The Ardmore, it will have a land bank of nearly one million sq ft of developable area on prime freehold land in the Orchard Road area. 'We have to date spent about $1 billion to acquire our prime land bank which carries an average land cost of just over $1,000 psf per plot ratio,' the group said yesterday.

Market watchers reckon that SC Global's breakeven cost for a new condo development on The Ardmore site could be around $3,000 psf. 'I guess they could be looking at selling the project at around $3,500 psf on an average basis, although with their brand name in the luxury sector, SC Global should be able to achieve even higher prices,' according to an analyst.

Simon Cheong, who is SC Global's chairman and CEO, said of The Ardmore: 'This freehold site is not only the last available site at Ardmore Park, it also has the distinctive characteristics we have been looking for to create our next premium signature development.'

Knight Frank, which brokered the sale of The Ardmore, said the tender for the collective sale drew six established property developers listed on the Singapore Exchange when it closed on June 12. 'The bids received were very close and were within a narrow price range,' it added.

The property is possibly the last plot with an Ardmore Park address available for redevelopment, it said. However, market watchers note that at least one major collective sale is brewing in the prestigious location - that of The Claymore.

The Ardmore's collective sale is subject to approval from the Strata Titles Board.

On average, owners of The Ardmore's existing 24 units will pocket nearly $11 million each, although BT understands the actual sum that owners will receive will vary widely, depending on the size of their units. There are three sizes of apartments in the development.

June 18, 2007

Ardmore Park condo sold en bloc fetches record price

By Fiona Chan, Property Reporter

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AN ARDMORE Park condominium has just smashed the record for the most expensive collective sale in Singapore - less than a week since the last record was set.

The Ardmore, a 24-unit freehold property off Orchard Road, was bought by high-end developer SC Global for $262 million, some $40 million above the initial asking price.

This works out to an eyebrow-raising $2,338 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr), including a $16.6 million development charge. It far surpasses the last record of $1,788 psf ppr set by Char Yong Gardens in Cairnhill last Tuesday.

The Ardmore has also become the first condo here to cross the $2,000 psf ppr mark in a collective sale. Other nearby estates making similar attempts include Grangeford Apartments at Leonie Hill and Elizabeth Heights and Trendale Tower in the Cairnhill area.

With this sale, each owner of The Ardmore - which has mainly three-bedroom units of 1,991 sq ft in size - stands to get about $11 million on average. No units have been transacted in the past two years, and the single unit that changed hands in 2005 went for $904 psf.

The coveted condo was said to have attracted five other bids from big-name property developers in a public tender that closed last Tuesday. All the bids were close, a sign that developers remain bullish on the highest end of the property market despite the recent sharp run up in prices.

Home prices rose 4.8 per cent in the first quarter, after rising 10.2 per cent last year. In the same periods, prices in prime districts shot up 7.3 per cent and 25.4 per cent, respectively.

The Ardmore sits on the last site with redevelopment potential in Ardmore Park, one of Singapore's choicest residential districts. Most of the nearby condos are either fairly new or already sold for redevelopment.

SC Global's winning offer for The Ardmore means it will have to sell units in the new project at more than $3,300 psf, and likely closer to $4,000 psf, said property experts.

Mr Lui Seng Fatt, regional and head of investments at Jones Lang LaSalle, believes these prices are 'doable'.

'Ardmore is among the best addresses in Singapore,' he said. 'The price that SC Global is paying for this site is certainly no surprise.'

Mr Nicholas Mak, director of research and consultancy at Knight Frank, estimated that the breakeven price for the project could go up to $3,200 psf ppr. He said 45 to 50 new units of about 2,000 sq ft each could be built.

The 42,565 sq ft plot can host a new 36-storey development with a total floor area of 119,181 sq ft, SC Global said yesterday. Chairman and chief executive officer Simon Cheong said the group intends to build a high-end luxury condo.

'The Ardmore Park address is well-established in the international community as an upmarket residential enclave,' he said in a statement.

This purchase brings SC Global's total bill for collective sales since last year to about $1 billion. Last year, it spent $648 million on Paterson Tower, Hilltops Apartments and some terrace houses in Cairnhill.

The Ardmore sale is the latest in a string of record-breaking collective sales and comes a day after the Government said it is keeping an eye on fast-rising home prices.

Although Minister of National Development Mah Bow Tan said buyers of 'multimillion-dollar' homes in the central regions 'can take care of themselves', he added that it was important to ensure that 'prices do not overshoot'.

Last week, the Government released a slew of new residential sites, mainly in suburban areas, in what is being seen as a move to steady the market.

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