Paragon’s journey from car showroom to S$3.9 billion jewel

[SINGAPORE] CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust ( CICT ) on Monday (Apr 20) announced the acquisition of Paragon mall from Cuscaden Peak for S$3.9 billion.

Long considered a beacon of Singapore’s luxury retail market, the property has seen exciting times – from its beginnings as a car showroom, to becoming the anchor of a media giant and, later, real estate investment trust (Reit) and subsequent privatisation.

The Business Times traces the rich history of the iconic Orchard Road landmark.

The early years

1958: Fitzpatrick’s supermarket opens on a plot along 290 Orchard Road that would later become The Promenade.

1973: Dairy Farm, a subsidiary of Hongkong Land , acquires Fitzpatrick’s.

1980: Hongkong Land demolishes the supermarket to develop The Promenade, a high-end mall.

1984: The Promenade opens.

1970s: A two-storey car showroom occupied by Orchard Motors on an adjacent plot is converted into a shopping mall known as The Orchard.

1980s: Paragon Properties, a family company of Lee Eu Seng, develops the original Paragon Shopping Centre on The Orchard’s site.

SEE ALSO

The Paragon paradox: CapitaLand’s upscale retail mall scoop is a win – but for whom?

CICT sells Asia Square Tower 2 to IOI for S$2.5b, buys Paragon for S$3.9b

S$3.9 billion Paragon acquisition seals CICT’s dominance in downtown retail, adds medical exposure

Consolidation

1987: Metro opens Metro Paragon, the department store chain’s flagship outlet in Singapore at the time, positioning the mall as a primary destination for high-end textiles and luxury goods.

1987: Investment holding company First Capital Corporation (FCC), now known as GuocoLand , buys over The Promenade. Around the same time, real estate developer United Industrial Corporation (UIC), now known as Singapore Land Group , buys over FCC.

1988: UIC purchases the Paragon site from Paragon Properties and divests The Promenade to Emmons Investments in a back-to-back agreement.

1989: Japanese retail giant Sogo acquires Paragon (Paragon by Sogo) and an adjacent vacant plot of land.

1992: Property investment firm The Royal Brothers acquires The Promenade from Emmons Investments.

SPH integration

1996: Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) leads a consortium to acquire The Promenade for S$270 million. It also acquires the adjacent Paragon by Sogo for about S$682 million, securing the entire footprint of 290 Orchard Road.

1998: Paragon reopens as a modern, glass-covered mall.

2003: Paragon and The Promenade are amalgamated into a single unified structure, creating a seamless 115-metre front along Orchard Road, which is recognised as Paragon today.

2008: SPH embarks on an S$82 million asset enhancement to make over Paragon’s facade, as well as expand its commercial space

2009: The revamp is completed, introducing the mall’s iconic “pop-out” glass boxes that project four metres beyond the original elevation line.

Listing, delisting, rebranding

July 2013: SPH Reit lists on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) with a portfolio anchored by Paragon. The initial public offering is priced at S$0.90 per unit, raising S$504 million.

2021: SPH announces a strategic review, spinning off its media business into a non-profit trust. This triggers a takeover battle for the company’s property assets between Keppel and Cuscaden Peak.

August 2021: Keppel launches a S$3.4 billion bid (S$2.099 a share) for SPH’s non-media assets.

October 2021: The Cuscaden Peak consortium, comprising Hotel Properties Limited ( HPL ), Mapletree and CLA Real Estate, launches a surprise rival bid of S$2.10 cash a share.

Nov 9, 2021: Keppel raises its offer to S$2.351 a share, comrpising cash, Keppel Reit units and SPH Reit units.

Nov 15, 2021: Cuscaden counters with an improved per-share offer of S$2.36 cash or S$2.40 comprising cash and SPH Reit units.

February 2022: SPH terminates the Keppel agreement and pays a S$34 million break fee, later effectively covered by Cuscaden, to move forward with the Cuscaden scheme.

May 2022: Cuscaden Peak completes its S$3.9 billion takeover of SPH Reit. SPH is delisted.

January 2023: SPH Reit is renamed Paragon Reit to align the corporate identity with its flagship asset.

Privatisation

January 2025: HPL, led by tycoon Ong Beng Seng, exits the Cuscaden Peak consortium to focus on its own redevelopment projects on Orchard Road.

February 2025: Cuscaden Peak (now a 50:50 venture between Mapletree and CLA Real Estate Holdings, two wholly owned Temasek entities) launches a S$2.8 billion bid to take Paragon Reit private at S$0.98 a unit.

April 2025: Minority unitholders approve the privatisation scheme.

June 2025: Paragon Reit is delisted from SGX.

CICT acquisition

Apr 20, 2026: CICT proposes acquiring Paragon for S$3.9 billion.

Q3 2026: The acquisition is expected to be completed.