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Hour Glass to acquire units in Tong Building for $68.5 mil

By Ashley Lo

/ The Edge Singapore |

September 26, 2024 9:47 PM SGT

The group says the acquisition is part of The Hour Glass’ strategy to “invest in high quality assets which will complement the group's commercial properties in the region”.

Luxury watch retailer The Hour Glass has exercised the options to purchase granted to it by See Hoy Chan Realty and See Hoy Chan Land for the acquisition of units in Tong Building for a purchase consideration of $68.5 million.

According to a Sept 26 bourse filing, the company will be acquiring units #09-01 to #09-04 and #10-01 to #10- 04 within the building. Yap Hui Yee, executive director of investment sales and capital markets at Savills Singapore, brokered the deal. "The freehold status of the office floors adds significant long-term value, making it a compelling choice for those seeking to preserve their wealth and capital," she comments.

Earlier this month, Yap also facilitated the sale of the entire sixth floor of Tong Building to Parkway Hospitals Singapore for $31.33 million, or $4,562 psf, which is the highest psf price for an office space in the prime districts to date.

Each level of the property comprises a strata area of 638 sqm (6,867 sq ft) within the freehold premium-grade office property. The units are located near The Hour Glass’ corporate offices within the building.

The group says the acquisition is part of The Hour Glass’ strategy to “invest in high-quality assets which will complement the group's commercial properties in the region”.

Upon the signing of the options to purchase, the group has since paid a deposit of $3.4 million. The balance of the purchase consideration is expected to be payable upon completion of the purchase of the property, which is set to be in December 2024.

The acquisition is set to be funded by the group’s internal resources as The Hour Glass is in a net cash position. As at FY2024 ended March 31, The Hour Glass has cash and cash equivalents of $237.6 million.

On a pro forma basis, had the property been acquired on March 31 this year, there would have been no changes to The Hour Glass’ net tangible assets (NTA) of $841.7 million or NTA per share of $1.30.

Had the acquisition been completed on April 1, 2023, The Hour Glass’ FY2024 earnings would have been at $157 million from $156.6 million originally. Its pro forma earnings per share (EPS) would have risen to 23.95 cents from 23.87 cents originally.

Shares in The Hour Glass closed 1 cent higher, or up 0.63%, at $1.59 on Sept 26.

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Tong Building