Oxley's stock soars on news of stake in London developer

Singapore

SINGAPORE developer Oxley Holdings is acquiring 20 per cent of London developer Galliard Group through a £50 million (S$107 million) share subscription.

The partnership will enable Oxley to leverage Galliard's construction and property development expertise and network in the UK to expand its future developments, it said in a Thursday early morning announcement.

Oxley's counter, which has been on a steady decline since mid-April this year, surged 13.6 per cent on the news to close at its day's high of S$0.46 on Thursday.

In its announcement, Oxley said that its chairman and chief executive officer Ching Chiat Kwong and deputy CEO Low See Ching will be appointed as investor directors to Galliard's board.

Galliard is a London-centric award-winning property developer that has operated in London for 23 years and has a current portfolio of more than 5,900 homes, hotels, retail premises and commercial properties.

Its track record includes pioneering the regeneration of London's Drydocks in the early 1990s, reinventing the South Bank as a desirable residential address and today's regeneration of the Greenwich peninsula.

Galliard consists of three divisions:

Put together, the divisions contain a huge portfolio of expertise, including in-house planners, architects, interior designers, structural engineers, technicians and other professionals.

Oxley said: "Supported by Galliard Group's vertically integrated business model, Oxley will have greater capacity and flexibility to market its London properties, manage its property construction and provide Oxley's buyers with an added after-sales service in leasing their units.

"The acquisition underlies efforts to ensure Oxley's brand is better entrenched in the real estate market at large and thereby driving higher performance and enhancing profitability of the development."

Mr Ching said he looks forward to the partnership helping to support the remaining phases of Oxley's Royal Wharf construction, as well as its future developments in London.

Stephen Conway, Galliard's founder and CEO, said: "Galliard is a London-centric property developer that has a strong selling profile in Singapore. Oxley is a dynamic Singapore-based property developer with a rapidly growing London presence. Our combined expertise can only be of benefit to both of us."

Among other metrics, the subscription price of £50 million was arrived at based on Galliard's net tangible asset value, which at end-March 2015, was about £56.9 million. It will be funded by bank borrowings. The deal is expected to be completed this month.