SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - Tanglin Shopping Centre has found a buyer with an offer of $868 million, 4.8% higher than the asking price of $828 million, at the close of the tender on Feb 22. The purchase price of $868 million translates to $2,769 psf per plot ratio (psf ppr), assuming full commercial usage, according to Savills Singapore, which brokered the deal.

See also: Tanglin Shopping Centre makes fourth en bloc bid at $828 mil

There were several competing bids for the freehold Tanglin Shopping Centre, but Pacific Eagle Real Estate, a Singapore-based, privately held real estate investor and developer of the Tanoto family, emerged the successful bidder. “Tanglin Shopping Centre is one of Singapore’s earliest retail landmarks and occupies a prominent location next to the St Regis Hotel in the Orchard Road enclave,” says Pacific Eagle Real Estate director, Sun You Ning.

In fact, the sale price is 10% higher than the reserve price of $785 million, points out Galven Tan, Savills Singapore deputy managing director, investment sales & capital markets.

“The key appeal of the site is that it’s a freehold commercial site, which allows buyers the flexibility of various development options,” says Jeremy Lake, Savills Singapore managing director of investment sales & capital markets.

This latest collective sale attempt of Tanglin Shopping Centre marked the strata owners’ fourth attempt. The freehold site of 68,512 sq ft is zoned for commercial use with an allowable gross plot ratio of 4.2 under the 2019 Master Plan, with a height control of up to 20 storeys. Tanglin Shopping Centre has an existing verified gross floor area (GFA) and development baseline of 313,435 sq ft or plot ratio of 4.57.

“We are pleased to see the collective sale of Tanglin Shopping Centre come to fruition, notably at a premium of 10% over the reserve price," says Sherman Kwek, group CEO of Singapore-listed City Developments Ltd (CDL), which owns a stake in Tanglin Shopping Centre via its wholly-owned hotel subsidiary, Millennium & Copthorne Hotels Ltd (M&C). M&C’s wholly-owned subsidiary King’s Tanglin Shopping Pte Ltd in turn, held 85 of the 363 freehold strata units at Tanglin Shopping Centre since 1981. The units represent 34.6% of the share value and 60.2% of the strata area in Tanglin Shopping Centre. This is in line with "our capital recycling initiatves to unlock the potential of our asset portfolio and maximise shareholder value," adds Kwek.

The existing 12-storey commercial complex has 105m frontage along Tanglin Road and secondary frontage on Cuscaden Road. The building has 363 units, with retail and office units from Basement 2 to the 6th storey of the podium block, and office units on the 7th to 12th storeys of the tower block. The complex had been built in two phases: the main complex was completed in the 1970s, while the office tower extension was completed in the early 1980s. (Find Singapore commercial properties with our commercial directory)

Tanglin Shopping Centre isn’t Pacific Eagle Real Estate’s first en bloc purchase. In 2018, Pacific Eagle purchased Chinatown Plaza en bloc for $260 million. Chinatown Plaza is being redeveloped into Mondrian Singapore Duxton, a luxury lifestyle hotel. A more recent en bloc purchase was a mixed-use development at Duke’s Road, which Pacific Eagle purchased for $53.9 million in December.

Pacific Eagle Real Estate is the family office of Sukanto Tonato, the Indonesian tycoon who controls Royal Golden Eagle (RGE), a resource-based industrial group with a 50-year history and sprawling business empire, dealing in production of natural fibres, edible oils, green packaging to natural gas.

On the site of Tanglin Shopping Centre, Pacific Eagle Real Estate wants to create “an iconic development befitting the property’s heritage and its frontage along one of our island’s most important streets,” according to Sun.

In the en bloc sale, the owners of Tanglin Shopping Centre are represented by the specialist property team at Legal Solutions LLC, while Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP represents the buyers. The sale remains subject to the Strata Titles Board’s approval.

Stay updated with En Bloc Singapore - Latest News, Enbloc Potential, Listings & Sales in 2022

Check out the latest listings near Tanglin Road, Tanglin Shopping Centre, Cuscaden Road, Chinatown Plaza