Tag Archives: Singapore Retail

Singapore Property : Katong Mall sold for $247.6m

Posted on 11 Nov 2009 | Comments Off on Singapore Property : Katong Mall sold for $247.6m

New owners will spend $55m to redevelop the property

A consortium of investors – including CapitaLand’s former head of retail Pua Seck Guan – has signed a deal to buy Katong Mall from Tuan Sing Holdings for $247.6 million.

New look and feel: Artist’s impression of a revamped Katong Mall, which has already started attracting new tenants

The deal marks one of the largest investment transactions in Singapore’s property market this year.

Katong Mall was acquired by Tuan Sing in June 2008 through a collective sale deal. The property group paid $219 million for the site then.

The consortium of investors – which comprises no more than six parties and includes corporate investors, institutional investors and Mr Pua – is acquiring Katong Mall via Perennial Katong Retail Trust, a private property trust set up for the purpose of buying the mall.

The transaction is expected to be completed by end-January 2010. The sale was brokered by Landmark Property Advisers.

Katong Mall, located at the junction of East Coast Road and Joo Chiat Road, is a four-storey building with three basement levels and with remaining lease of about 70 years. The new owners will spend $55 million to redevelop the property, which is expected to increase the mall’s net lettable area by about 20 per cent, from 172,170 square feet to over 206,000 sq ft.

Works, which are expected to last for 12 to 15 months, will commence sometime next year upon approval from the relevant authorities.

‘Katong Mall has immense potential to become a thriving lifestyle-cum-food and beverage hub in the Katong and Marine Parade precincts,’ said Mr Pua. ‘The mall enjoys an excellent location and is well-supported by large affluent population catchments from the surrounding Marine Parade, Katong and Joo Chiat areas.’

In addition, Katong Mall presents ’significant value creation opportunities’ which can be harnessed through good asset planning, appropriate repositioning and optimal tenancy remixing, he added.

There are already new tenants lined up.

The BreadTalk group has expressed keen interest in taking up leasable space at the revamped Katong Mall to house a series of its brands, such as Food Republic, Din Tai Fung, BreadTalk, Toast Box and Ramen Play.

Mr Pua’s Perennial Real Estate, a Singapore-registered real estate company, also has a majority stake in the company that will manage the mall.

Tuan Sing said that after taking into account the relevant acquisition cost, the book value of Katong Mall came to $194.8 million as at end-September 2009.

The expected gain from the transaction is estimated to be about $42.7 million, or 3.75 cents per ordinary share.

Source : Business Times – 10 Nov 2009

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Singapore Property : nex mall to have roof garden dog run

Posted on 11 Nov 2009 | Comments Off on Singapore Property : nex mall to have roof garden dog run

nex, the mall which is being built next to Serangoon MRT Station, will have a dog run – the first in a shopping centre here.

For pet lovers: Dog owners and their pets will have to use designated lifts in the mall or escalators outside. Dogs will not be allowed in other parts of the mall

The 2,000 sq ft run will be on the roof garden at the fourth level. ‘We hope that with the introduction of a designated dog area at nex, perhaps we can attract a new group of regular mall visitors who are pet lovers,’ says Tong Kok Wing, general manager of Guthrie Consultancy Services, which is providing project consultancy and marketing for nex.

The run has been set aside for dogs to exercise and play in an off-leash environment under the supervision of their owners. ‘Under guidelines stipulated by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA), certain breeds of dogs must be muzzled and the same will apply here,’ a Guthrie spokeswoman said.

To visit the dog run, dog owners and their pets will have to use designated lifts in the mall or escalators outside. Dogs will not be allowed in other parts of the mall.

A Pet Safari store will be on the same level as the dog park. The store, operated by Pet Lovers Centre – one of Singapore’s largest pet food retailers – will occupy more than 5,000 sq ft in a double-storey unit. It will offer pet food, accessories, veterinary services and pets for sale.

So far, more than 70 per cent of retail space at nex has been committed. Anchor tenants include Challenger, rivals Fairprice Xtra and Cold Storage, Courts, Isetan, Shaw Cineplex, Food Republic and Food Junction. The mall is being developed at an estimated cost of $1.3 billion and is slated to be completed by end-2010.

Other places in Singapore where there are dog runs include West Coast Park, Bishan Park and Pasir Ris Farmway.

Source : Business Times – 10 Nov 2009

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