22 Grade A Office Units Up For Grabs In 20 Cecil Street
SINGAPORE – A portfolio of Grade A strata office units at the 20 Cecil Street office building has been launched for sale via expression of interest (EOI) exercise, according to a press release published by exclusive marketing agent CBRE on Wednesday afternoon (11 May, SGT).
The portfolio consists of 22 office units spread across four adjacent floors and it has a total strata office area of 24,477 sq ft. The bundle has an indicative price of S$75.88 million, which translates to S$3,100 psf based on their overall strata area. CBRE revealed the office units have a floor-to-ceiling height of 2.9 metres.
Specifications include full curtain window and air-conditioning that enables each office unit to be operated independently. The commercial property also boasts a grand marble-clad office entrance lobby, an exclusive sheltered drop-off point, and three basement parking levels that can accommodate 86 vehicles.
20 Cecil Street is a 28-floor Grade A office building that enjoys dual frontages in Cecil Street and Church Street. It has a 99-year leasehold tenure with effect from 1989 and its site is zoned for commercial use, meaning both locals and foreigners are allowed to acquire the office units there. Moreover, there will be no additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) or seller’s stamp duty (SSD) imposed on the deal. The commercial property also has direct sheltered access to Raffles Place MRT Station.
“Given the building’s hi-specs quality, accessibility and strategic location, we expect strong interest from both investors and owner-occupiers for this portfolio. 20 Cecil Street has been popular among tenants and owner-occupiers considering the strong tenant profile from diverse trade mix it currently accommodates,” commented Michael Tay, Head of Capital Markets for Singapore at CBRE
“It is uncommon to own 4 contiguous floors in an office building in Raffles Place and this presents a good opportunity for end-user occupiers or investors to acquire quality premises for their own operations and be among some of the MNC brands in the locale. The buyer can also choose to lease out the units which will give a rental yield of approximately 3.5 percent, which is much higher than yields for residential units.”
The Raffles Place precinct has undergone an exciting rejuvenation with the completion of CapitaSpring, attracting more MNC tenants into the vicinity including JP Morgan, Redhat, Millennium, and SMBC.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the office occupancy in the Raffles Place submarket remained robust, with an average occupancy rate of over 90 percent in the past 3 years. With the opening of borders and work-from-home (WFH) no longer the default arrangement, occupancy rate is expected to remain healthy with a potential for rental upside.
“Considering that the government has restricted strata subdivision of commercial properties in the central areas, this means that prime strata offices will be limited in supply and increasingly hard to come by,” noted CBRE Associate Director of Capital Markets for Singapore, Joshua Giam.
“With the recent announcement of the increase in residential additional buyers’ stamp duty in December 2021, we have been receiving a lot more enquiries for commercial assets, as investors are optimistic on the long-term investment view on the potential of both rental increase and capital appreciation. This portfolio will also be a good opportunity for family offices, investors or owner occupiers.”
The EOI exercise will close on 14 June 2022 at 12pm.
