SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - Following the liquidation of local sports retail chain Sportslink earlier this month, the three strata-titled, retail units that it owns at Queensway Shopping Centre have been put up for sale via private treaty by the receiver.
Sportslink was founded in 1983, and its first store was located at Queensway Shopping Centre, which over the years has become a destination for affordable sports goods and apparel. The company was registered as Sports Link Holdings in 1994. At its peak in 2015, Sportslink had 35 outlets in suburban malls islandwide. These were mainly leased units.
The three units at Queensway Shopping Centre that Sportslink owns are situated on the third level of the five-storey, strata-titled mall. The largest unit is 6,588 sq ft, and is linked to two other smaller units — one of 517 sq ft and an adjacent unit of 549 sq ft. All three units will be offered for sale together, as the two smaller units are part of the storefront of the larger unit, explains Hoe Tze Huat, associate group director at PropNex Realty, who is marketing them.
Sportslink’s two smaller units form part of the store-front of the larger unit on the third floor of Queensway Shopping Centre (all three units are highlighted in red above) (Photo: PropNex Realty)
“The shops have strong visibility as they are located near the staircase and escalator coming up to the third floor,” adds Hoe.
The maintenance fees for the three units amount to $11,973 per month, inclusive of goods and services tax, while the property tax for 2020 is said to be $30,300.
Measuring 7,653 sq ft in total strata area, the indicative selling price for all three units will be in the range of about $18 million ($2,352 psf) to $20 million ($2,613 psf). Sportslink had purchased the three units together for a total of $20.8 million ($2,718 psf), according to a caveat lodged with URA Realis in May 2013.
There were three transactions at Queensway Shopping Centre this year (see table). In February, a 538 sq ft unit on the first level changed hands for $2.5 million ($4,645 psf); in March, a third-floor unit of 183 sq ft fetched $500,000 ($2,732 psf); while the latest transaction was for a 140 sq ft unit on the second level that was sold for $588,000 ($4,202 psf) in July.
Retail unit transactions at Queensway Shopping Centre (2020)
Source: URA Realis
Sportslink’s units at Queensway Shopping Centre have received enquiries from a mix of high-net-worth individuals and institutional investors, including private equity fund managers who are interested in expanding their investment portfolio, says Hoe.
Many of these potential buyers have expressed caution about the rentability of the units given the current climate, Hoe concedes. However, the attraction for them is the fact that these are retail units, and therefore are not subject to additional buyer’s stamp duty, he adds.
Completed in 1976, Queensway Shopping Centre is part of a mixed-use development with 241 retail units. It is linked to a residential block, called Queensway Tower, with 78 apartments. The owners at Queensway Shopping Centre and Queensway Tower had attempted an en bloc sale last year to no avail. They had formed a collective sale committee in 2018, but failed to secure consent from 80% of the owners within the stipulated 12-month period. At that time, the indicative price was said to be more than $500 million.
Nonetheless, PropNex’s Hoe says that given the freehold tenure of the mall and its double frontage on the corner of Alexandra Road and Queensway, the mall has potential for redevelopment in the future.
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