AN attempt for the collective sale of Orchard Towers has failed to obtain the requisite 80 per cent consent from unit owners, according to mainboard-listed property developer Hiap Hoe : 5JK 0%.

Hiap Hoe, whose subsidiary Golden Bay Realty owns 59 strata lots – comprising 21 shops and 38 offices – at Orchard Towers, said in a bourse filing on Monday (Feb 20) it had been informed that the proposed deal had fallen through.

The collective sale committee of Orchard Towers did not obtain the required threshold for the sale and therefore the process was halted, Hiap Hoe said.

The Business Times reported in February last year that the collective sale committee of Orchard Towers had recommended setting a reserve price of S$1.6 billion for an en bloc sale.

The potential deal was then said to possibly become the most expensive collective sale in Singapore’s history.

Completed in the early 1970s, Orchard Towers has a plot ratio of 4.9 and a site area of about 6,130 square metres.

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The freehold development spans two buildings, with retail and office space in the front tower along Orchard Road, and some commercial units and 58 private residential units in the rear 25-storey tower along Claymore Road. There are 361 car park lots.

Collective sale of the development, known for its sleaze and nightlife business, gained traction in July 2022, when the police said Public Entertainment Licences for nightclubs and bars at Orchard Towers will not be renewed beyond May 2023.

This was said to be part of the Singapore authorities’ continued efforts to manage law and order at the building.

Market watchers say the failure of the collective sale of Orchard Towers shows the challenges of putting together a deal in a big mixed development, where it is difficult to get a valuation and pricing acceptable to the different types of strata title owners.