Perennial Consortium Buys Former Big Box, Which Will Be Converted Into A Business Park
SINGAPORE – A consortium comprising Perennial Real Estate Holdings among others is purchasing the former Big Box property in Jurong Lake District (JLD) for f S$118 million, according to a company announcement made on Friday (4 December).
Perennial Real Estate stated that its wholly-owned unit, PRE 15 Pte Ltd, has exercised the Call Option under the Put & Call Option Contract inked earlier with Big Box Pte Ltd, the appointed receivers and managers for the asset.
Notably, Big Box Pte Ltd launched an expression of interest (EOI) exercise for the property in April 2019. This is after the former property owner carried out a voluntary liquidation in September 2018. TT International, which owns 51 percent of the asset, also underwent a credit restructuring scheme.
Moreover, the acquirer revealed that it has already received confirmation from JTC to rezone the industrial plot (Business 1 White site) for business park usage. It also expects to spend more than S$70 million for the redevelopment.
“The redevelopment will optimise and increase the property’s existing gross floor area of approximately 1.4 million sq ft, based on a gross plot ratio (GPR) of 2.3, to approximately 1.5 million sq ft, based on a maximum permissible GPR of 2.5. Correspondingly, its net lettable area will increase from approximately 1 million sq ft to 1.1 million sq ft,” said Perennial Real Estate.
Once completed, the new commercial property will be rebranded as Perennial Business City. It will come with big floor plates, a huge rooftop garden with amphitheatre, and sufficient parking space for vehicles.
Located in JLD’s Jurong Gateway precinct, the upcoming business park is just a stroll from the Jurong East MRT Interchange Station. Apart from being close to Jurong Port, it is also near 2 world-class research institutions, namely Nanyang Technological University and the National University of Singapore. It will also be within close proximity to the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail.
Additionally, Perennial Real Estate said it has appointed CBRE Singapore to start marketing and leasing the commercial property to would-be tenants from high-value sectors, like biomedical sciences, fast-moving consumer goods, and financial institutions, as well as firms involved in information communication technology (ICT).
In terms of ownership, 51 percent of Perennial Business City will be held by Perennial Real Estate. The remainder will be controlled by other investors, including Perennial Chairman Kuok Khoon Hong’s investment vehicle, HPRY Holdings Ltd.
The acquisition is expected to be completed by mid-February 2021, while the redevelopment works will be finished in stages from the fourth quarter of that year.
