Apple Acquires UE BizHub Central For S$55mil
SINGAPORE – Apple has purchased UE BizHub Central at 12 Ang Mo Kio Street 64 for S$55 million from United Engineers, which is a part of Yanlord Land Group, reported The Business Times on Monday morning (11 April, SGT).
This is a high-specification facility is part 4-storey and 7-storey with a gross floor area (GFA) of roughly 388,000 sq ft. It stands on a 259,150 sq ft land plot with a remaining lease term of 22 years. Once the leasehold tenure runs out, ownership will go back to JTC Corporation.
Notably, the American tech giant has been renting a few floors in the building, which equates to about 30 percent of the GFA, from United Engineers. As part of the rental deal, Apple has the right of first refusal to acquire the property, and this right has been exercised.
Previously, Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) had marketed UE BizHub Central for sale. The property was originally purchased by United Engineers from Motorola in 2010.
UE BizHub Central is merely a stone’s throw from Apple’s own built-to-suit facility at 7 Ang Mo Kio Street 64, which has a remaining leasehold tenure of 24 years. And the tech giant expanded to UE BizHub Central in 2012 amidst its growing business activities here.
Market observers revealed that after the acquisition of this property, Apple can proceed with its near-term expansion plans in Singapore by taking over the rest of the commercial space in UE BizHub Central, which is presently occupied by seller United Engineers and its subsidiaries. The sources said United Engineers can easily transfer to one of its other buildings in Singapore.
In regards to the UE BizHub Central site, there is potential for Apple to construct a new block on a part of the site, which is presently used as a surface car park.
Under the 2019 Master Plan, the site is zoned for Business 1 use with a plot ratio of 2.5. This means it can have a maximum GFA of nearly 648,000 sq ft and this is about 67 percent higher than the current GFA.
The purchase of UE BizHub Central was made by Singapore-incorporated Apple South Asia, the same Apple subsidiary that owns the 7 Ang Mo Kio Street 64 property.
Apple has an existing presence in the city-state. It has leased part of the 18-storey Innovis at 2 Fusionopolis Way in the one-north business park from JTC. Sources disclosed that Innovis houses the tech giant’s corporate functions like regional management as well as sales and marketing. Engineering-related functions, such as product design as well as research and development (R&D) are predominantly housed in the Ang Mo Kio facility.
According to a news release that Apple issued in July 2021 to mark its 40th anniversary in Singapore, the city-state is the tech giant’s base for its Asia Pacific operations.
“Singapore is home to more than 3,500 Apple team members representing over 50 nationalities, and the company supports over 55,000 jobs in Singapore, including through the thriving iOS app economy,” Apple stated in the press release.
