GB Building unit owners eyeing collective sale

Oct 13, 2021

SOME subsidiary proprietors of GB Building, located at 143 Cecil Street in the Central Business District, are aiming for a collective sale of the commercial development.

A collective sale committee was appointed earlier this year to start the process, said mainboard-listed property developer and investor Chuan Hup Holdings, whose wholly-owned subsidiary Provest Realty owns 3 floors in GB Building.

In a filing on Wednesday (Oct 13), Chuan Hup disclosed that the terms and conditions of the collective sale agreement as well as the method of apportionment of the sales proceeds were approved at a second extraordinary general meeting on Oct 7.

The reserve price was not stated in Chuan Hup's bourse filing.

The consenting unit owners, including Provest, will execute the collective sale agreement with respect to their interests in GB Building.

At least 80 per cent of the owners have to consent before the appointed marketing agent can launch an en bloc tender.

In April, the office and retail development was among a slew of properties that could soon be put up for collective sale.

GB Building sits on a site with a 99-year leasehold tenure starting October 1982, leaving a balance term of about 60 years. The 26-storey building comprises a retail podium, an office tower and a three-level basement car park.

Provest is the registered subsidiary proprietor of the 20th to 22nd storeys of the property. Chuan Hup had acquired the office space in November 2014, when it decided to build a portfolio of investment properties.

Chuan Hup said that none of its directors or shareholders has any interest in the proposed collective sale, save for their shareholdings in the company.

There is no certainty that the proposed collective sale will proceed or be completed.

"Given that the collective sale is at a very preliminary stage and the disposal is highly conditional, the sensitive nature of the discussions precludes disclosure of further commercial information or terms at this time," Chuan Hup said.

Shares of Chuan Hup rose 2 per cent or S$0.005 to close at S$0.25 on Wednesday (Oct 13), before the announcement was made.

Several strata-titled units in GB Building have been put on the market since last year. This August, three units - including the retail podium on Levels 1 and 2 - changed hands for about S$52 million in total. And in 2020, at least 3 office floors were offered for sale.