Happy ending for S$401.9m collective sale of City Towers in Bukit Timah

THE sale of City Towers in Bukit Timah has finally been completed at its fourth en bloc attempt and after a pair of sibling owners initially attempted to block the deal.

Sale of the District 10 freehold site for S$401.9 million to a unit linked to Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing was completed on Aug 27, real estate firm Colliers International announced in a press statement on Wednesday.

Depending on the size of their unit, each residential owner stands to receive S$2.78 million to S$11.5 million from the successful sale. The sale price - which is more than 13 per cent above the owners' reserve price - works out to a land rate of about S$1,847 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr), after factoring in a development charge of S$3.5 million.

The collective sale tender for City Tower was launched on Jan 4 last year and attracted seven competitive bids, with Japura Development, linked to Mr Li's Cheung Kong empire, the top bidder.

But the sale hit a snag after the siblings, who owed two units at City Towers, filed their objections to the High Court. The duo, however, withdrew their objections and the sale order approving the collective sale was issued in May this year. The Business Times reported then that the siblings' objections had affected their mother, who also owned a unit in City Towers and had already bought a new home.

The 17-storey development comprises 77 units of apartments and maisonettes, a penthouse unit and a shop unit. It has a land area of 9,711.3 square metres (about 104,531 sq ft), with a proposed total gross floor area of 20,393.7 sq m (about 219,516 sq ft).

City Towers, which is near the Newton and Stevens MRT stations, is located in an enclave of private residential apartments and landed housing estates in District 10.

Tang Wei Leng, managing director at Colliers, said: "We are happy to have successfully concluded this collective sale for the owners. This is their fourth attempt and the success is a happy outcome."

M Singh, chairman of the City Towers collective sale committee, added: "Collective sale journeys tend to be long and complex, and the owners are heartened that the sale is finally completed. We are delighted that Colliers has more than delivered on the mandate from owners, achieving a premium above the reserve price. In addition, we would like to thank all parties involved in this deal particularly our lawyers for their professionalism and the owners for their support and patience."