The Widjaja family sold two retail units at 15 Scotts last year. (Source: Cushman & Wakefield)
Top Global is selling a strata-titled office asset in Singapore for S$76 million ($57.1 million) as the company owned by Indonesia’s Widjaja family plans to completely exit the commercial building near Orchard Road shopping district. I put it up for sale.
A real estate investment company owned by the family of Indonesian conglomerate Sinar Mas Group has put the entire second floor of the freehold building 15 Scotts up for sale for the equivalent of S$3,419 per square foot, according to a statement on Tuesday. announced the appointment of Cushman & Wakefield. .
Sean Poe, executive director of capital markets at Cushman & Wakefield, said Orchard Road’s Orchard Road freehold office assets are becoming owner-occupied as the supply of freehold office assets dwindles following recent government restrictions. The company said it expects to receive strong interest from investors and investors.
The 22,227-square-foot (2,065-square-meter) floor is Top Global’s last remaining portion of the former Tong Teck Building after the company disposed of the majority of its portfolio of 23 units in the building over the past two-and-a-half years. be.
Aiming to withdraw after 5 years
The second floor of the nine-story development is currently leased to nursery school Kiddiewinkie Schoolhouse, with the lease expiring in the fourth quarter. Poh said that thanks to the large floorplates, which include outdoor space, the asset also offers repositioning opportunities that could potentially attract higher-value tenants such as co-working operators.
Top Global boss Sukumawati Widjaja is the eldest daughter of late Sinar Mas founder Eka Cipta Widjaja.
“This opportunity represents a unique opportunity for investors and businesses looking to establish a presence in a highly coveted location,” Poe said. “Due to the current restrictions on subdivisions in prime locations, we do not expect large floor plates with single ownership to be released anytime soon.”
There will be no new supply of strata offices in the Orchard area over the next three years after the government restricts strata splitting of commercial properties in Singapore’s business hubs in 2022, according to a property consultancy.
If the asset is sold at the asking price, Top Global will receive a 15% discount from the S$4,028 per square foot it achieved when it sold three units on the sixth floor to a Chinese investor in November 2022. It will be sold.
The company made its latest building disposal in July last year when it sold two retail buildings to jewelery retailer House of Hun for S$31.08 million.
The price of Top Global’s latest product is also 8 per cent lower than the price of S$3,694 per unit recorded during the first disposal in the building in October 2021.
The company’s bid to exit 15 Scotts comes four years after it acquired a portfolio of strata units for S$170 million in 2019.
Sukumawati Widjaja, also known by her Chinese name Oei Siu Hua, is the sister of Singaporean billionaire Oei Hong Leong, who took Top Global private in an August 2021 deal. Sukumawati is the eldest daughter of Sinar Mas founder, the late Eka Cipta Widjaja, and she has been vice-chairman of Sinar Mas Group since 1988.
Attracting Strata Garner’s Attention
Built in 1973, 15 Scotts is located opposite Far East Plaza Shopping Center and underwent a S$15 million renovation in 2015. Mr Poh said October’s S$908 million sale of Far East Shopping Center, a five-minute walk from 15 Scotts, should be even higher. The attractiveness of real estate for investors.
The expression of interest campaign for the property is scheduled to end on February 22nd.
Sian Yan Wong, head of Singapore research at Cushman & Wakefield, said demand for strata office assets was supported by supply constraints and the prospect of long-term growth in office rents in the city-state’s core regions. Stated.
“Family offices and high-net-worth individuals continue to seek out real estate opportunities for asset preservation and diversification. Funding conditions remain challenging, but a satisfactory volume of investment products (less than $200 million) is being traded. continues,” Wong said on Tuesday.
Investors have paid record prices for strata office assets in Singapore over the past two years. The project, led by Solitaire on Cecil, is a joint venture between local fund managers TE Capital and LaSalle Investment Management, which sold all 15 strata office floors within three months of launch. It entered the market last year.
The partners sold the top floor of the project near Raffles Place in April 2023 for S$4,325 per square foot, setting a record for a stratified office floor in Singapore.
A year ago, investors paid S$3,000 per square foot for a series of strata units in the Southpoint Building near Tanjong Pagar, setting a new record for the nearly 40-year-old property.