UOL-SingLand JV to buy Watten Estate Condominium for S$550.8m

Watten Estate Condominium up for sale at minimum price of S$500m

Sep 15, 2021

WATTEN Estate Condominium (WEC) at Shelford Road has been put up for collective sale via tender with a minimum price of S$500 million, said marketing agent JLL.

Spanning 220,241 square feet, the freehold elevated site is zoned residential with a gross plot ratio of 1.4 and an allowable height of up to five storeys.

More than 80 per cent of the owners have consented to the collective sale.

At the minimum price, this amounts to about S$1,622 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr), or S$1,570 psf ppr after factoring in an additional 8 per cent bonus gross floor area and the corresponding development charge.

The property comprises 104 units of townhouses and apartments built around 1983. According to JLL, it can be redeveloped into 286 units based on the mandatory minimum average size of 100 sqm.

The condominium is about 650 metres away from Tan Kah Kee MRT. In its vicinity are Coronation Shopping Plaza, King's Arcade Shopping Centre, Crown Centre, Serene Centre, Cluny Court and Adam Road Food Centre.

Tan Hong Boon, executive director at JLL, said: "With strengthening sales from new developments in the Bukit Timah precinct achieving new levels, keen competition from developers to bid well above the owners' minimum price are expected."

The tender will close on Oct 27 at 3pm.

In 2019, the condominium was up for collective sale with a reserve price of S$536 million. That translated then to a land rate of S$1,738 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr).

UOL-SingLand JV to buy Watten Estate Condominium for S$550.8m

Oct 28, 2021

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AN 80:20 joint venture (JV) between United Venture Investments (UVI) and Singland Residential Development (SRD) has been awarded a tender to purchase en bloc property Watten Estate Condominium (WEC) for S$550.8 million.

UVI and SRD are the wholly-owned subsidiaries of UOL Group and Singapore Land Group (SingLand), respectively. UOL is a controlling shareholder of SingLand, which was formerly known as UIC (United Industrial Corporation).

UVI will pay 80 per cent of the consideration or S$440.6 million for the acquisition based on its proportion of ownership of the JV, with SRD to fund the remainder.

In their respective bourse filings on Thursday (Oct 28), UOL and SingLand said acquiring WEC is in the ordinary course of business and will enable both groups to replenish their land banks for residential development in Singapore.

SingLand added that the JV parties intend to redevelop the property into a condominium, subject to the necessary approvals from relevant authorities.

Both JV parties intend to formalise their terms in connection with the property's acquisition and redevelopment - and share risks and rewards in proportion to their subsidiaries' equity stakes in the JV.

WEC's S$550.8 million price tag comes at a 10.2 per cent premium to the minimum price of S$500 million announced by the property's marketing agent JLL in September 2021. When completed, this transaction will mark the Singapore residential market's biggest successful collective sale in the year to date.

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WEC comprises 104 units of townhouses and apartments built around 1983. Spanning 220,241 square feet, the freehold elevated site at 36-44 Shelford Road is zoned residential with a gross plot ratio of 1.4 and an allowable height of up to 5 storeys.

The property can be redeveloped into 286 units based on the mandatory minimum average size of 100 square metres, according to JLL.

Shares of UOL closed S$0.01 or 0.1 per cent higher at S$7.33 on Oct 27, while SingLand ended flat at S$2.70.