Strata units in GB Building for sale; Oxley Tower F&B units re-launched at lower guide price

Michelle Zhu

Published Mon, Mar 7, 2022 · 01:09 PM

THREE strata commercial units in GB Building have been launched for sale through an expression of interest (EOI) exercise, announced exclusive marketing agent PropNex on Monday (Mar 7).

The portfolio of 3 commercial units has an overall guide price of S$69 million, and a combined strata floor area of 31,086 square feet (sq ft).

They comprise a retail podium on the first and second floor which spans 13,067 sq ft, as well as office units on the third and eighth floors with strata areas of 12,594 sq ft and 5,425 sq ft, respectively.

The retail podium and the eighth-floor unit are put up for sale with vacant possession, while the third-floor office space is currently tenanted to 2 tenants, a service office and a law firm.

These 3 commercial units may be purchased individually or collectively as a portfolio, as well as equity sale.

According to PropNex senior associate division director Navin Bafna, the retail podium is among the largest single strata retail space in the Central Business District (CBD). He believes the space is suitable as a showroom or office, or for an anchor tenant looking to offer unique retail concepts.

A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU

Tuesday, 12 pm

Property Insights

Get an exclusive analysis of real estate and property news in Singapore and beyond.

Located at 143 Cecil Street at the junction of Cecil Street and McCallum Street, GB Building is a 26-storey office development with a double frontage on both streets.

It has a 99-year leasehold land tenure commencing from October 1982.

The building falls under the Singapore government's CBD Incentive Scheme, which allows for a higher gross plot ratio for the conversion of existing office developments to hotel and residential use, subject to conditions.

The 3 strata units for sale have a total share value of 20.8 per cent, which Bafna highlighted as a substantial stake in GB Building.

This means the portfolio's successful buyer will have a "certain level of influence" should GB Building's owners decide to put the building up for collective sale, he said.

Bafna also sees the portfolio as a "rare opportunity for investors to acquire the units for rental income or for own use by businesses, amid a gradually-improving office space market".

"Sizeable strata commercial units in the CBD are usually tightly held and there is limited supply available for sale," said Bafna, who thinks office rentals have likely bottomed and could continue to inch up this year.

The EOI exercise for the 3 strata units will close on May 7, 2022.

Separately on Mar 7, joint marketing agents CBRE and SRI announced the relaunch of 2 strata food and beverage (F&B) retail units that span the entire fourth storey of Oxley Tower at 138 Robinson Road, via an EOI exercise that closes at 3 pm on Apr 19.

Both units come with a private roof terrace and offer private lift access. They are to be sold with vacant possession at a combined guide price of S$21 million.

Buyers may either purchase the units on a collective basis, or individually at guide prices of S$10.4 million for the 7,266 sq ft strata area unit at #04-01 and S$10.6 million for the 7,384 sq ft strata area unit at #04-02.

The new S$21 million guide price translates to S$1,433 per sq ft on the total strata area of 14,650 sq ft. It comes in lower than the S$26 million guide price for the 2 units when they were last put up for sale in August 2021.

Oxley Tower is an integrated freehold development anchored by a 4-storey retail podium as well as offices from the fifth to 32nd storey.

Given the strata units' column-free layout and temporary approval for outdoor refreshment area use for part of the roof terraces, CBRE and SRI believe the buyer will have "flexibility to create unique dining concepts" in the property. These 2 units have also been recently refurbished with low initial capital expenditure required upon the acquisition, added the agents.

CBRE's senior director of capital markets Clemence Lee believes the asset's relaunch is a timely move considering the "controlled and cautiously optimistic pandemic situation", which sees Singapore slowly expanding Vaccinated Travel Lanes from and to new destinations.

As the units for sale at GB Building and Oxley Tower are zoned for commercial use, both Singaporeans and foreigners are able to acquire them with no additional buyer's stamp duty or seller's stamp duty payable.

READ MORE: