High Street Centre gets 80% nod for lower price of $678 mil, but buyer’s deposit delayed

High Street Centre's marketing agent, Cushman & Wakefield (C&W), sent a letter dated August 7 to the strata-titled owners of the mixed-use development, announcing that the 80% mandate needed to proceed with the collective sale at a lower price of $678 million has been secured. The letter sent by C&W was also on behalf of the lawyer representing the owners, Legal Solutions LLP, and the High Street Centre Collective Sale Committee. The offer price of $678 million, received at the close of the tender on June 24, is about 9.4% lower than the reserve price of $748 million. Read also: Roxy Square up for collective sale at $1.25 billion Advertisement Advertisement According to C&W, at least 80.27% of the owners by share value and 88.38% of the owners by strata area have fully signed the supplemental joint agreement to proceed with the sale of the High Street Centre at the lowered price.

Buyer unknown

C&W did not disclose the buyer's identity. An initial deposit of 1%, or $6.78 million, was due on July 31. The payment was delayed because the buyer was subjected to "heightened regulatory vigilance on fund movements," C&W stated in the letter. "As a gesture of sincerity, the purchasers have made a second token payment of a further $100,000, taking the total deposit amount to $200,000," noted C&W. "We also understand that once the purchasers' bankers manage to satisfy regulatory measures, the monies will be remitted, and all requisite payments will be up to date." Consequently, the timeline "will now have to be pushed back by some four to five weeks to accommodate the time needed by the purchasers to remit their funds from the United States of America", according to C&W. The marketing agent added that the 1% payment of $6.58 million ($6.78 million less $200,000) will be paid on or before September 5. Once the 1% deposit is received, the collective sale committee must file at the Strata Titles Board for approval by October 2. The buyer is likely to be new to the market, which is unusual for a collective sale site given its complexity and many moving parts, say sources. Read also: First-level food court and shop at People’s Park Centre for sale at $27 mil Advertisement Advertisement If the deal goes through at $678 million, High Street Centre will be the largest collective sale deal this year. The biggest collective sale deal concluded this year was Delfi Orchard, sold to Singapore-listed property giant City Developments Ltd (CDL) in May. Before the purchase, CDL already owned 84% or 126 of the 150 strata commercial and residential units at Delfi Orchard.

Fourth collective sale attempt

For the owners of High Street Centre, the deal would mean the opportunity to cash out of a property many have held for decades, and some have operated businesses there from the start. The latest collective sale attempt was the fourth by the owners of High Street Centre. The first time was in June 2020, when the strata-titled, mixed-use development was launched for sale by C&W at $800 million. It was relaunched in May 2021 at $700 million. In October 2023, High Street Centre was relaunched at $748 million and closed in January 2024 without a bid. In its fourth attempt in May 2024, although the reserve price remained at $748 million, votes were already being gathered for the reserve price to be lowered to $700 million for the next collective sale tender should the latest bid prove to be unsuccessful, said Christina Sim, senior director of capital markets of C&W.

Redevelopment potential

Sim says High Street Centre is zoned commercial but has the flexibility to incorporate a hotel or serviced apartment component within the new development. If redeveloped, the site could be turned into a mixed-use development, with 60% of the GFA set aside for office and retail units; and 40% for hotel, residential, or serviced apartment use with no more than 450 rooms. Read also: Over 80% of Elias Green owners agree to second collective sale attempt at $928 mil Advertisement Advertisement The 29-storey development was built in 1974 and has 429 strata-titled units, including one strata title for the carpark. The retail podium spans four floors from basement 1 to level 3 and contains 190 strata-titled retail units. The carpark on levels four and five has just one strata title. Another 183 strata-titled office units are on levels six to 24, with 55 apartments from levels 25 to 29. The property sits on a 60,299 sq ft plot with an allowable gross plot ratio of 7.72 and a total gross floor area of 466,085 sq ft. It has about 44 years left on its 99-year lease from 1969. The building fronts Hill Street, Boat Quay, and North Bridge Road and has a waterfront promenade of more than 100m along the Singapore River. The latest strata commercial transactions at High Street Centre were for a 700 sq ft office unit on the second level that fetched $696,700 ($1,000 psf) and three neighbouring retail units of 377 sq ft on the third level that went for $376,000 each or $1,000 psf, based on caveats lodged on March 1. Meanwhile, the latest apartment that changed hands at High Street Centre was in January 2022, when a 527 sq ft unit fetched $950,000 ($1,801 psf).