Tanglin Shopping Centre sold for S$868m to Tanoto family's Pacific Eagle Real Estate

Feb 23, 2022



THE freehold Tanglin Shopping Centre has been sold for S$868 million or S$2,769 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) assuming full commercial usage.

The buyer is Pacific Eagle Real Estate (PER), a Singapore-based real estate investor and developer privately held by the Tanoto family, Savills Singapore, the exclusive marketing agent of Tanglin Shopping Centre, said in a release on Wednesday (Feb 23). The deal is subject to the Strata Titles Board's approval.

The sale price concluded is about 10 per cent above the reserve price for the mixed retail and office property, in a fourth attempt at a collective sale.

Buyer Pacific Eagle Real Estate had previously acquired en bloc Chinatown Plaza at 34 Craig Road, which is now being redeveloped into Mondrian Singapore Duxton, a luxury lifestyle hotel that will combine historic architecture from Singapore's centuries-old shophouses with modern, contemporary influences. A more recent purchase is a building along Duke's Road, with attractive redevelopment potential given its location in the Bukit Timah Road area near the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

Pacific Eagle Real Estate director, Sun You Ning, said: "Tanglin Shopping Centre is one of Singapore's earliest retail landmarks and occupies a prominent location next to the St Regis Hotel in the Orchard Road enclave. Pacific Eagle Real Estate is honoured to have the opportunity to create an iconic development befitting the property's heritage and its frontage along one of our island's most important streets."

The tender for Tanglin Shopping Centre's collective sale closed on Feb 22 and is said to have drawn 5 bids, including from Far East Organization and Perennial Holdings.

The mainboard-listed City Developments Ltd (CDL), through an indirect fully-owned subsidiary of its privatised hotel arm Millennium & Copthorne Hotels, owns about 34.6 per cent of the share value and 60.2 per cent of the strata area in Tanglin Shopping Centre. BT understands the CDL did not place a bid. In response to media queries, CDL's group chief executive officer, Sherman Kwek, said: "This marks yet another successful outcome following our privatisation of M&C in 2019 and is in line with our capital recycling initiatives to unlock the potential of our asset portfolio and maximise shareholder value."

The 68,512 sq ft site is zoned commercial with an allowable gross plot ratio of 4.2 under the Urban Redevelopment Authority's 2019 Master Plan, and has a height control of up to 20 storeys.

Tanglin Shopping Centre has an existing verified gross floor area (GFA) and development baseline of about 313,435 sq ft (with plot ratio of 4.57). It is near the Orchard Boulevard and Orchard MRT stations.

Enjoying a very prominent frontage of about 105 metres along Tanglin Road as well as a secondary frontage on Cuscaden Road, Tanglin Shopping Centre is currently a 12-storey commercial complex with 2 basement levels and an annex 8-storey carpark. In the main complex, retail and office units are located from basement 2 to the 6th storey of the podium block, while the 7th to 12th storeys of the tower block consist of office units. Carpark lots are available in basements 1 and 2 of the main complex and at the annex 8-storey carpark building. Built in 2 phases, the main complex was completed in the 1970s, while the office tower extension was completed in early 1980s. The development has 364 units.

Jeremy Lake, managing director of investment sales and capital markets at Savills Singapore, said: "The tender for Tanglin Shopping Centre was keenly contested. The key appeal of the site is it being a freehold commercial site, which allows buyers the flexibility of various development options."

Savills' deputy managing director of investment sales and capital markets, Galven Tan, said: "This is the fourth collective sale attempt by Tanglin Shopping Centre and Savills is excited to have achieved success for the owners. The marketing campaign ran by Savills resulted in a competitive bidding exercise which resulted in a price that is 10 per cent above the reserve price."

The owners of Tanglin Shopping Centre are represented by the specialist property team at Legal Solutions LLC, led by directors Patrick Ee and Christopher Yong. Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP represented the buyers of Tanglin Shopping Centre in the collective sale.

"For over 50 years, the Tanoto family, through the RGE group of companies, has founded and managed a range of businesses which produce natural fibres, edible oils, green packaging and natural gas. Today, the group employs 60,000 staff around the world," Savills added.

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/rea...le-real-estate