Highest Offer For Income@Raffles At Nearly S$1bil
SINGAPORE – At the initial closing earlier in June 2022, the closed expression of interest exercise for the Income @ Raffles office tower at 16 Collyer Quay is said to have attracted about 10 submissions including some joint offers, reported The Business Times on Wednesday morning (15 June, SGT).
Of the submissions, the highest offer for the 37-storey, 999-year leasehold office building owned by NTUC Income Insurance Co-operative, is said to surpass S$950 million or S$3,450 psf based on the commercial property’s net lettable area (NLA) of 276,451 sq ft.
Three parties were shortlisted to improve their offers and they submitted enhanced bids several days ago. They are believed to be Bright Ruby Resources, and Indonesian business mogul Sukanto Tanoto of Royal Golden Eagle, as well as a joint venture (JV) between BlackRock and City Developments Ltd (CDL).
According to market chatter, the other parties that submitted offers during the initial closing earlier this month include GuocoLand, Baring Private Equity Asia (BPEA), Royal Group’s Asok Kumar Hiranandani, a tie-up between KKR and TE Capital Partners, a JV between Angelo Gordon and TCRE Partners, and a partnership comprising Keppel Land and Alpha Investment Partners.
Previously called Hitachi Tower, Income@Raffles has 22,787 sq ft of retail premises on the 1st and 2nd floor, in addition to having 253,664 sq ft of office space. Moreover, it is linked to the Raffles Place MRT Station via 30 Raffles Place (former Chevron House).
Meanwhile, sources revealed that Baring Private Equity Asia (BPEA) is conducting an exclusive due diligence in view of potentially buying Parkview Square in the Bugis area. The expected selling price is about S$900 million or around S$2,700 psf based on the commercial property’s NLA of 340,000 sq ft.
The 24-storey office project, which sits on a site with a balance term of 74 years, is owned by Chyau Fwu Development. While observers noted that the property’s GFA has been maximized, they said there’s potential to reduce some mechanical and electrical space in the basement, which also has parking lots.
As the building was built two decades ago, it could benefit from a revamp. Market observers shared that Parkview Square’s average monthly passing rent is in the S$7-plus psf level, which is lower than Bugis Junction Towers’ S$8-plus psf range. Notably, the latter recently underwent a renovation to its lower facade, lobbies, and elevator interiors. Furthermore, Bugis Junction Towers is situated above the Bugis MRT Station.
