CDL net profit down 13.1%

CITY Developments Ltd (CDL), which posted a 13.1 per cent drop in net profit to $119.7 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2014, has acquired five prime freehold properties in the UK for £152 million (S$318.9 million) since September last year.

Besides the £80 million purchase of a multi-storey car park site at 28 Pavillion Road in Knightsbridge, which the group intends to redevelop into a luxury residential project (subject to planning approval), it has picked up investment properties in Croydon and Chelsea in addition to duplex apartments in Belgravia (near Sloane Square).

The group reiterated that it is actively seeking new opportunities in mature markets such as the US, Japan and Australia, whose economies are recovering and whose capital markets' sophistication, transparency and corporate governance are akin to those of Singapore.