S$700mil Offer To Buy Golden Mile Complex

SINGAPORE – A source has revealed that a joint venture consisting of Perennial Holdings and Far East Organization has proposed to acquire the landmark Golden Mile Complex for S$700 million, down from the S$800 million reserve price, reported The Business Times on Thursday morning (31 March, SGT).

As such, the collective sale committee (CSC) of the mixed-use development with office space now has to persuade the owners of the 718 strata-titled there to accept the offer, as it is lower than the reserve price and commercial property’s independent valuation.

The offer came after the CSC opened private treaty deals with would-be buyers after the close of the collective sales tender on 28 February 2022.

In a letter sent on 28 March to the unit owners, the committee explained that the collective sale agreement must be amended to permit the CSC to proceed with the sale of commercial development at the offer price.

As such, the committee will hold meetings with the unit owners and its marketing agent Edmund Tie on 7-9 April, so that the unit owners can get info on the outcome of the tender and offer’s details.

Constructed in 1973, the 16-storey Golden Mile Complex was gazetted as a conserved building by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on 22 October 2021 due to its historical and architectural importance. It has a basement level containing shops, offices, and apartments.

Sited on about 1.3ha of land along, the development currently has a gross floor area (GFA) of 56,000 sq m. Considering the bonus floor area and alienation of the adjacent government land, the site has a maximum GFA of around 81,000 sq m, with the option to build a new 30-storey tower beside the primary building.

Previously, the Golden Mile Complex’s first en bloc sale attempt in July 2019 attracted zero bids, and its reserve price was also S$800 million back then.

At that reserve price, the indicative land rate, depending on the proposed mix of uses, translates to S$1,350 psf per plot ratio, including differential and lease upgrading premiums.

Since the end of the last en bloc sale attempt and before the latest attempt, office units at the development changed hands at S$786 psf to S$1,858 psf, while retail units were transacted for between S$1,135 psf and S$3,632 psf, based on URA data.