Fragrance Group buys Katong Plaza for S$180 million 

KATONG Plaza has been sold for S$180 million to Fragrance Group, according to market sources. 

This translates to a land rate of S$1,809 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) for the freehold site in District 15. 

The deal was brokered by Terence Lian, Huttons Asia’s head of investment sales. Lian declined to confirm the identity of the buyer. 

Katong Plaza houses 132 retail units and 14 residential apartments. Owners of the retail units stand to get proceeds ranging from S$502,000 to over S$6 million, while residential owners will be getting between S$2 million and S$5.1 million, Lian added. 

He said: “We believe this sale will boost confidence in the collective sale market as developers continue to pursue attractive land parcels.”

Currently zoned for commercial and residential use, Katong Plaza has been granted outline permission from the Urban Redevelopment Authority to convert it for hotel use.

It was put up for sale in May at a guide price of S$188 million, including a land betterment charge of about S$6 million. 

The proposed hotel development can yield up to 300 to 340 rooms depending on size. 

Katong Plaza sits on a land area of 34,044 square feet (sq ft) and a gross plot ratio of three, with a maximum gross floor area of 102,132 sq ft.

Last October, entities linked to Fragrance Group founder and chairman James Koh bought two freehold industrial buildings for nearly S$101 million.

BT reported that he paid S$61 million for a five-storey property at 3 New Industrial Road, in the Upper Paya Lebar-Bartley area. The other property, bought by Koh for nearly S$40 million, is at 3 Kallang Pudding Road. 

Koh, through various privately-held entities, owns hospitality, office, industrial and other assets, predominantly in Singapore. He privatised the Singapore Exchange-listed Fragrance Group in 2021. 

Fragrance Group is now redeveloping the former Tower 15 site at 15 Hoe Chiang Road into a hotel and serviced-apartment project.

Last Thursday (Sep 26), Roxy Square’s tender closed without any bids. The massive freehold mixed-use development, which comprises Roxy Square Shopping Centre and Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel, was launched for sale at a minimum price of S$1.25 billion. This reflects a land rate of about S$2,094 psf ppr inclusive of land betterment charge and at a gross plot ratio of 3.86. 

According to its website, Roxy-Pacific Holdings owns 56 out of 296 shops in Roxy Square Shopping Centre as well as the hotel. 

The collective sale is now in the 10-week private treaty process and negotiations are ongoing with a few parties, JLL told BT. 

Last July, the freehold Katong Shopping Centre made a fourth en-bloc attempt at a reserve price of S$638 million, or S$2,277 psf ppr. There were no takers when the mixed use development’s tender closed last August. 

Several other hotel assets were made available on the market, but none have been sold so far, The Business Times understands. 

In May, the three-star Travelodge Harbourfront Singapore was being offered for sale by private equity owners Schroders and TPG Angelo Gordon from S$320 million. This works out to about S$950,000 per key for the hotel which has 336 rooms. A few parties have expressed interest in the hotel and are in private treaty negotiations, said Julien Naouri, senior vice-president of investment sales in JLL, the hotel’s marketing agent.

Sandpiper Hotel in Little India was also put on the market for S$33 million or S$1.06 million per key in the same month. In April, private equity firm Lucrum Capital put a freehold hotel on Killiney Road up for sale at S$195 million or S$1.7 million per room.