Tulip Garden sold to Yanlord Land and MCL for S$906.9 million

A JOINT entity by Chinese developer Yanlord Land Group and MCL Land has successfully tendered for the en bloc sale of the freehold Tulip Garden for S$906.9 million, the nation's second largest collective sales deal so far in 2018.

The sale price is 20.4 per cent higher than the reserve price of S$753 million submitted by owners of the 316,708 sq ft estate.

Tulip Garden comprises 162 apartments and maisonettes and two shop units, and is located in District 10 close to Holland Village and a Good Class Bungalow area.

Depending on the size of the property, which range from 1,701 sq ft to 3,412 sq ft, each residential unit owner could receive between S$4.3 million and S$7.6 million.

The sale price works out to a land rate of S$1,790 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr). This is higher than recent collective sales transactions in the area such as the S$1,703 psf ppr for Hollandia; S$1,654 psf ppr for The Estoril and S$1,536 psf ppr for The Wilshire.

It could potentially yield up to 670 residential units with its plot ratio of 1.6, said Yanlord in a Singapore Exchange announcement after trading hours on April 12.

It is zoned for an allowable height of up to 12 storeys. No development charge is payable for redevelopment up to a gross plot ratio of 1.6, said marketing agent Colliers International in a statement

The acquisition is being made by Asia Radiant, an entity under a jointly-held entity between the mainboard-listed Yanlord and MCL, a unit of Hongkong Land Holdings.

The acquisition marks Yanlord's maiden entry into Singapore's prime freehold residential property market.

So far, the highest collective sale deal this year belongs to Pacific Mansion in River Valley, which was acquired by GuocoLand, Intrepid Investments and Hong Realty for S$980 million.

It is a case of fourth-time lucky for Tulip Garden owners. The development actually was sold in July 2007 during its first try, but the buyer - a consortium led by Bravo Building Construction - backed out after trouble raising funds.

Tang Wei Leng, managing director at Colliers International, said: "Despite a spate of collective sale deals done in the Holland Road area in recent months and a large slate of redevelopment sites on the market, the tender for Tulip Garden still attracted very keen interest - a testament to its excellent locational attributes."

Yanlord said the acquisition and development of the project will be financed by internal resources and bank borrowings.

Yanlord Land rose two Singapore cents to close at S$1.75, before the announcement was made.