SINGAPORE – The collective sale committee for Sim Lim Square, Singapore’s gadget central, has settled on an asking price of around $1.1 billion and will begin getting signatures for its maiden collective sale attempt, The Straits Times understands.
Former presidential hopeful Salleh Marican, who runs Second Chance Properties and owns 12 commercial units in Sim Lim Square, stands to get around $30 million if the sale is successful.
He told ST on Wednesday (March 14): “I’m confident we can get 80 per cent of the signatures. But whether we can get a buyer at $1.1 billion, I’m not so sure.
“There’s so much competition now, with People’s Park Complex, People’s Park Centre, Golden Mile Complex and Golden Mile Tower all going en bloc.”
Sales committee member and unit owner Calvin Ho disagrees, noting that this is the “first full commercial prime city centre en bloc sale”.
“Given that we started seven months ago, we are ahead of them.”
Nearly 60 per cent of owners by share value attended an extraordinary general meeting on Monday.
Of those owners, about 87 per cent voted in favour of the apportionment method and 97 per cent for the collective sale agreement.
The committee said in a statement that it shows positive sentiment among the proprietors for the collective sale.
Mr Ho said the largest units could net their owners as much as $60 million, while the smaller ones can get $1 million. “The apportionment is determined by valuation, share value and size,” he added.
Mr Song Teck Kee, 67, who has 11 units, has not agreed to sell as he is not happy with the price for his units, some of which are in “prime areas” of the mall. “Some units on the ground-floor atrium are in not so good locations, yet they got better prices than mine. It’s not fair.”
Mr Salleh noted some owners were worried about the mall’s future. “We had hoped that things would revive after the MRT stations opened, but there was only minimal improvement,” he said.
The six-storey mall in Rochor Canal Road is near Rochor and Jalan Besar MRT stations. It is trying for a collective sale amid declining footfall in recent years, observers say.
The 99-year leasehold building with 492 units was completed in 1987 and has a floor area of 22,007 sq m. It has a land size of 7,260 sq m.
SLP Scotia, owned by SLP International Property Consultants, has been appointed marketing agent.
Ms Kristy Song, founder of cafe and audio store Zeppelin and Co, and the daughter of Mr Song, said she is not in favour of the sale.
“My business is growing. If Sim Lim successfully goes en bloc, which mall do I move to that has the same kind of draw?” she asked.
“Source:[Sim Lim Square seeks $1.1b for collective sale] © Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Permission required for reproduction”
