Hong Kong’s Link Reit sells Thomson Plaza retail space for S$250 million

[SINGAPORE] Hong Kong-listed Link Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit) is selling its retail space on the first and third levels of Thomson Plaza for S$250 million.

The buyer is Jack Investment and Pangjwee Development, an entity linked to Han Chee Juan, Jack Investment’s chairman. Jack Investment owns Leisure Park Kallang, a mall near the Singapore National Stadium.

Swing By @ Thomson Plaza, a multi-concept retail and dining enclave within the mall, has a remaining tenure of 49 years. Savills and Cushman & Wakefield brokered the deal.

The divestment is priced at a 23-per-cent premium to the property’s most recent book valuation of S$202.6 million, said Link Reit’s manager on Wednesday (Apr 8).

It is also about 45 per cent higher than the purchase price of S$172.5 million.

The sale forms part of Link Reit’s ongoing portfolio strategy, which “aims to recycle assets, where appropriate, in order to create value for unitholders”.

John Saunders, executive director and chief investment officer of Link Reit’s manager, said that the Reit is continuing to “focus on its core strength of retail malls in the Asia-Pacific and is keen to increase its exposure in Singapore”.

Still, asset recycling “remains an integral part” of its portfolio optimisation strategy, he added. “We regularly screen our assets to assess whether we believe we have maximised near-term value with a decision to hold being effectively a decision to buy again at today’s price.”

Saunders said that since Link Reit’s acquisition of Swing By @ Thomson Plaza from NTUC unit Marcatus Co-op in 2022, the property has “performed well”, supported by “targeted asset-management initiatives”.

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The disposal is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2026. After the sale, Link Reit’s Singapore portfolio will consist of AMK Hub and Jurong Point.

Swing By @ Thomson Plaza has a net lettable area of 10,206 square metres, taking up about 56 per cent of the total space in the mall. It houses more than 60 tenants, including food court Koufu, casual dining restaurant chain Aston Specialities and Japanese retail chain Daiso.

For its first half ended Sep 30, 2025, the Reit recorded a distribution per unit of HK$1.2688, down 5.9 per cent from HK$1.3489 for the corresponding period in the year before.

Distributable income fell 5.6 per cent to HK$3.3 billion (S$551.6 million) from HK$3.5 billion before.

Net property income slipped 3.4 per cent to HK$5.2 billion in FY2026, from HK$5.4 billion the year before. Revenue dipped 1.8 per cent to about HK$7 billion.

The declines came amid “persistent macroeconomic headwinds” and sector challenges, particularly in Hong Kong and mainland China.

Still, the Reit continued to record “healthy occupancy” across its portfolio. Its Singapore retail assets registered an occupancy rate of 99.8 per cent, and the Singapore portfolio posted a positive rental reversion of 12.9 per cent in H1.

Link Reit’s manager noted in its H1 earnings report that it has been actively managing and optimising the Reit’s portfolio, while expanding Link’s real estate investment management capabilities.

“Active management, operational efficiency and streamlining efforts in the first half have helped to reduce operating costs and preserve margins,” said the manager.

It added: “We continue to explore investment opportunities, particularly in Singapore and Australia, while also looking into opportunities to divest and recycle assets.”

Link Reit was reported in June 2025 to be considering a Reit listing in Singapore that would include some of its properties outside China and Hong Kong.