Shenton House Acquired By Malaysian Billionaire
SINGAPORE – Shenton House has been bought via en bloc sale by IOI Properties Group’s Chief Executive Lee Yeow Seng after the mixed-use commercial property’s reserve price was reduced to S$538 million, according to a report from Forbes magazine last week.
Notably, the vintage 1970 development was acquired by a private firm owned by Lee known as Shenton 101. However, marketing agent Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) revealed that the transaction is conditional on getting the approval of Strata Titles Board for the collective sale.
The acquisition of Shenton House, one of the oldest structures in Raffles Place within the city-state’s central business district (CBD), also demonstrates that Lee remains upbeat on prospects of the Singapore office market.
“We will develop this strategically located and very prominent site into a premier Grade A office and luxury branded service residences,” said Lee in a statement. “This purchase demonstrates my continued confidence in Singapore’s prime office sector and residential rental market.”
Tan Hoon Boon, Executive Director of Capital Markets at JLL, remarked that the redevelopment of Shenton House which stands on a land plot measuring 3,377 sq m will help breathe life into the Shenton Way area amidst the limited stock of both Grade A office space and high-end rental homes in Singapore’s core CBD.
“This bid recognizes the attractiveness of Singapore’s office sector and residential rental market, underpinned by Singapore’s exceptional fundamentals as Asia’s financial and business centre,” Tan added.
Over the past few years, Lee’s IOI Properties has been ramping up its office investments in the city-state’s central business district. The Kuala Lumpur-based real estate developer is poised to finish the construction of IOI Central Boulevard Towers, a Grade A office development near Shenton House, by the end of 2023. The company is also building the Marina View Residences, which forms part of a commercial, hotel, and residential project in Marina Bay.
IOI Properties also has a stake in other Singapore office properties, like the South Beach Development, an office and hotel complex across Marina Bay which is being jointly developed with City Developments Limited (CDL).
