Wheelock sells 110 units in freehold Katong
condo
 
Good
figures: Analysts estimate Wheelock could
book a pre-tax profit of about $100 million from developing The Sea
View
(SINGAPORE) Wheelock
Properties (Singapore) has sold about 110 of the 189 units that were
released last Thursday during the soft launch of The Sea View condo
in Katong.
The average price the Singapore-listed
developer achieved for the units sold in the freehold condominium is
$775 per square foot.
This is higher than the $750 psf average
pricing that Wheelock announced last week for the first phase
release in the condo, and market watchers say this could be due to
the fact that the units sold have the choicest views among those
released so far.
The 110 or so units sold include six
penthouses, which fetched prices ranging from $1.8 million to $2.4
million. The project has drawn interest from both Singaporeans and
foreigners. Wheelock is developing the condominium, which will have
a total of 546 apartments in six towers, on the former Sea View
hotel site it bought in August 2003 and which it later combined with
adjoining sites, including one bought from China Airlines.
Analysts say that assuming a $750 psf
average selling price for the entire project, Wheelock should be
able to book a pretax profit of about $100 million from the project
progressively over the next few years, as it sells units and
completes the 23-storey development.
The development comprises mostly three and
four-bedroom apartments.
Wheelock's acquisition of the Sea View
hotel site in August 2003 marked the beginning of an acquisition
trail that was to include the China Airlines site next to Sea View
hotel; the Times House site along Kim Seng Road; Scotts Shopping
Centre and The Ascott Singapore serviced residences above it; and
Angullia View. Its shopping bill on sites over the past two years
was about $800 million.
Besides the Sea View and China Airlines
sites which are being developed into The Sea View condo, Wheelock
has also started developing the former Times House site into a condo
named The Cosmopolitan, which was launched earlier this year.
Its most profitable project was The
Ardmore Park luxury condo, which generated a pre-tax profit of about
$1 billion, booked in stages between financial years ended March
1998 and March 2003.- by Kalpana Rashiwala
SINGAPORE
BUSINESS TIMES 27 June 2005
Wheelock has taken a step towards streamlining its
corporate structure with the privatisation of property unit Realty
Development Corp (RDC).
The HK$1.01 billion buyout by Wheelock subsidiary
New Asia Realty and Trust was passed by a majority of RDC
shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting
Yesterday's green light for the privatisation
follows Wheelock's proposal last Sunday to sell its entire retail
portfolio. That raised speculation that the company might be
prepared to privatise more units, including New Asia Realty, and
could even lay the groundwork for an eventual privatisation of
Wheelock itself.
However, Frankie Yick Chi-ming, executive
assistant to group chairman Peter Woo Kwong-ching, said there was no
timetable for further restructuring.
RDC chairman John Hung said the group had been
streamlining its operations for a long time.
Non-executive director Glenn Yee was among those
who helped detail the proposal to shareholders at the extraordinary
general meeting.
New Asia proposed to pay HK$3.20 a share for the
RDC stock it did not already own. The subsidiary owns 72.42 per cent
of RDC, while Wheelock holds a 1.75 per cent stake. The offer was
for 297 million RDC shares held by minority shareholders.
Although the proposal won overwhelming support,
several small shareholders complained about the deal after the
meeting.
One shareholder, identifying himself as Mr Lau,
said he first invested in RDC more than 30 years ago and expressed
disappointment over the management's investment strategy over the
years.
"RDC was bigger than Cheung Kong in the old
days. It could have done better in growth but the management was not
aggressive enough in investment," he said. However, he voted
for the plan for fear of a sharp fall in the share price if the deal
did not go through. - by Kenneth Ko
South
China Morning Post
21 Feb 2003
Wheelock to sell top-end retail
outlets
Wheelock and Company has entered into agreements to
sell its loss-making retail businesses Lane Crawford, Joyce Boutique
Holdings and City Super to related companies for HK$589.8 million.
The portfolio amounted to about 2per cent of
Wheelock's net assets as of March 2002. The disposal would `allow
Wheelock to further focus on its core businesses and competencies of
property and infrastructure', company secretary Wilson Chan said.
The conglomerate's retail business has been
operating in the red, with losses totalling HK$38.7 million for the
12 months ended March 31, 2002, and HK$7.1 million for the six
months ended September 30, 2002.
Proceeds from the disposals would help reduce the
group's debt.
Wheelock holds Lane Crawford through LCI Group,
Joyce via Allied Wisdom Group, and City Super through Diamond View
Ltd (DVL). The entire portfolio is held through Wheelock's wholly
owned subsidiary Ansett. The blue chip planned to sell LCI Group and
Joyce Group to Wisdom Gateway, wholly owned by a trust set up by
close relatives of Wheelock chairman Peter Woo.
DVL Group would be sold to WHK, a company wholly
owned by Wharf Holdings, a 48 per cent-owned associate company of
Wheelock.
Lane Crawford, 100 per cent held by LCI and
privatised by Wheelock in June 1999, has recorded an aggregate net
loss of HK$441.1 million for the seven financial years from 1995 to
2001, making it the worst operation among Wheelock's retail
portfolio.
The retailer, which was fully owned by Wheelock,
would be disposed to Wisdom Gateway for HK$422.8 million, and
subject to a maximum upward adjustment of HK$50 million.
The disposal does not include Lane Crawford House
in Central. The building returned an annual rent of HK$29.7 million
for the year ended March 2002 and will return HK$32.3 million for
2003.
Upmarket fashion house Joyce Boutique, of which
Wheelock holds a 52 per cent stake, suffered losses of HK$85.1
million for the full year ended March 31 last year. The conglomerate
would pocket HK$156.2 million by selling its stake to Wisdom
Gateway.
The deal is a discount of 5 per cent to Wheelock's
52 per cent interest in the net asset value of Joyce Group as of
September 30 last year. But the sale represented a 132 per cent
premium to the closing price of Joyce shares of 8.1 HK cents last
Friday.
DVL, an investment company which owned 39.08 per
cent of the issued share capital of City Super BVI (CSBL), was
acquired by Wheelock from Wharf in June 2000.
But now Wharf has paid Wheelock HK$10.77 million
for ownership of DVL.
CSBL operates City Super and Log On lifestyle
stores in Hong Kong.
Shares of Wheelock eased 0.9 per cent to HK$5.45
last Friday. - Joyce Li HK
Standard 17 Feb 2003
Reshuffle of hard-hit assets
will enable the firm to pay debts and profit from Lane Crawford and
Joyce
 
Wheelock Holdings has proposed divesting its
entire retail portfolio - Lane Crawford and City Super department
stores and Joyce Boutique Holdings - in deals worth HK$589.8
million.
The bulk of the assets will be sold to family
trusts linked to Wheelock chairman Peter Woo Kwong-ching while the
company says its aims to focus on property and infrastructure works.
The move follows asset shuffles and privatisations by blue-chip
firms looking to capitalise on cheap asset at a time of depressed
real estate and stock-market prices.
Some deals have come in for sharp criticism and
prompted a shareholder revolt due to offer prices at steep discounts
to firms assessed underlying values.
Yesterday, Wheelock said it planned to sell a 100
per cent stake in Lane Crawford (excluding the Lane Crawford Tower
in Central) for HK$422.8 million and its 51.99 per cent stake in
Joyce for HK$156.2 million to Mr Woo's family trust.
The deals are deemed connected transactions under
listing rules as Mr Woo and his family hold 59.31 per cent of
Wheelock.
Additionally, Wheelock said it had completed a
cash-settled sale to associate Wharf Holdings of a 39.08 per cent
stake in the City Super chain for HK$10.77 million. The selling
price was roughly the same as Wheelock's purchase price for the
stores in 2000.
Wheelock said it would use the proceeds to repay
debt and that the sales of Lane Crawford and Joyce would generate a
small profit.
The group has been an aggressive asset shuffler
with its subsidiary New Asia Realty and Trust awaiting a shareholder
vote on a proposed privatisation of subsidiary Realty Development
Corp. Wheelock's retail operations made a net loss of HK$38.7
million in the 12 months to March last year, and HK$7.1 million in
the following six months to September.
Lane Crawford, a department store traditionally
frequented by Hong Kong's rich and famous is the cream of Wheelock's
retail assets and was privatised in 1999.
However, it racked up losses of HK$441.1 million
in the year to March 2001 as Hong Kong's big spenders retrenched due
to a bad economy and deflation.
Wheelock said the Lane Crawford sale price was
based on the retailer's December 31 unaudited net asset value of
HK$422.8 million.
The sale of Wheelock's stake in Joyce values it at
18.8 HK cents a share, or a 5 per cent discount to its unaudited net
asset value in September - the latest figures available.
The price represents a 132 per cent premium to
Joyce's trading close on Friday and was marginally higher than what
Wheelock paid in 2000 when it subscribed to new Joyce shares.
Prior to the transaction Mr Woo and related
parties owned 59.31 per cent of Joyce.
Wisdom Gateway, a trust related to Mr Woo's
family, said it intended to maintain Joyce's listing status and
would seek an exemption allowing it to avoid making a general offer.
HSBC advised Wheelock for the group reorganisation
while a committee composed of independent non-executive directors
unanimously approved the sales.
Last month Henderson Land Development suffered an
unexpected shareholder revolt against its plan to privatise
Henderson Investment and voted down the proposal.
Shareholder activists are increasingly focused on
valuations of assets moved between public companies and private
interests of controlling shareholders.
The retail assets disposed by Wheelock represents
2 per cent of the group's net asset in the year ending March last
year. - Christine Chan and Denise
Tsang
Wheelock Holdings has proposed divesting its entire
retail portfolio - Lane Crawford and City Super department stores
and Joyce Boutique Holdings - in deals worth HK$589.8 million.
The bulk of the assets will be sold to family
trusts linked to Wheelock chairman Peter Woo Kwong-ching while the
company says its aims to focus on property and infrastructure works.
The move follows asset shuffles and privatisations by blue-chip
firms looking to capitalise on cheap asset at a time of depressed
real estate and stock-market prices.
Some deals have come in for sharp criticism and
prompted a shareholder revolt due to offer prices at steep discounts
to firms assessed underlying values.
Yesterday, Wheelock said it planned to sell a 100
per cent stake in Lane Crawford (excluding the Lane Crawford Tower
in Central) for HK$422.8 million and its 51.99 per cent stake in
Joyce for HK$156.2 million to Mr Woo's family trust.
The deals are deemed connected transactions under
listing rules as Mr Woo and his family hold 59.31 per cent of
Wheelock.
Additionally, Wheelock said it had completed a
cash-settled sale to associate Wharf Holdings of a 39.08 per cent
stake in the City Super chain for HK$10.77 million. The selling
price was roughly the same as Wheelock's purchase price for the
stores in 2000.
Wheelock said it would use the proceeds to repay
debt and that the sales of Lane Crawford and Joyce would generate a
small profit.
The group has been an aggressive asset shuffler
with its subsidiary New Asia Realty and Trust awaiting a shareholder
vote on a proposed privatisation of subsidiary Realty Development
Corp. Wheelock's retail operations made a net loss of HK$38.7
million in the 12 months to March last year, and HK$7.1 million in
the following six months to September.
Lane Crawford, a department store traditionally
frequented by Hong Kong's rich and famous is the cream of Wheelock's
retail assets and was privatised in 1999.
However, it racked up losses of HK$441.1 million
in the year to March 2001 as Hong Kong's big spenders retrenched due
to a bad economy and deflation.
Wheelock said the Lane Crawford sale price was
based on the retailer's December 31 unaudited net asset value of
HK$422.8 million.
The sale of Wheelock's stake in Joyce values it at
18.8 HK cents a share, or a 5 per cent discount to its unaudited net
asset value in September - the latest figures available.
The price represents a 132 per cent premium to
Joyce's trading close on Friday and was marginally higher than what
Wheelock paid in 2000 when it subscribed to new Joyce shares.
Prior to the transaction Mr Woo and related
parties owned 59.31 per cent of Joyce.
Wisdom Gateway, a trust related to Mr Woo's
family, said it intended to maintain Joyce's listing status and
would seek an exemption allowing it to avoid making a general offer.
HSBC advised Wheelock for the group reorganisation
while a committee composed of independent non-executive directors
unanimously approved the sales.
Last month Henderson Land Development suffered an
unexpected shareholder revolt against its plan to privatise
Henderson Investment and voted down the proposal.
Shareholder activists are increasingly focused on
valuations of assets moved between public companies and private
interests of controlling shareholders.
The retail assets disposed by Wheelock represents
2 per cent of the group's net asset in the year ending March last
year. - by Christine Chan and Denise Tsang
South China
Morning Post
17 Feb 2003
Wharf to lift earnings with sale
of shops
Wharf (Holdings), a unit of land developer
Wheelock & Co, says the group plans to sell non-core property
assets this year to generate earnings because it will not offer many
apartments for sale.
The group has about 800 remaining and reserved homes for sale
this year, news reports quoted assistant director Ricky Wong as
saying.
``Like other property companies, we are looking at which non-core
properties to sell, but we don't have any definite plan yet,'' a
Wheelock group spokeswoman told The Standard.
Fitfort, a shopping arcade at Healthy Gardens in North Point that
earned about HK$40 million in rents a year, had been put on the list
for sale, she added.
Fitfort, which has a gross floor area of about 239,700 square
feet, including car parks, owned by the Realty Development
Corporation, according to an annual report.
Realty Development is 55 per cent indirectly owned by Wheelock
through New Asia Realty and Trust, which earlier offered to buy all
Realty Development shares it did not own to simplify the structure
and cut costs.
Wheelock's net profit fell by two-thirds for the half-year ending
September from a year ago as it wrote off nearly five times more on
the value of its properties. The company's property sales during the
period brought in HK$2.1 billion.
Wong said it was difficult to predict how much the group could
pocket from the non-core asset sales as the market conditions were
uncertain. - Hong
Kong Standard 2 Jan 2003
(Singapore)
-
Grange Residences
condo,
which Marco Polo began previewing this week, faces competition from
other high-end projects at similar prices. They include Four Seasons
Park condo, Scotts 28, 38 Draycott, Cuscaden Residences - and even
some of Marco Polo's Ardmore Park units in the resale market.
Also, buyers who aren't in a hurry can look
forward to a string of other projects on prime sites bought by
developers at toppish prices.
Among them are a 99-year leasehold site at
Draycott Park and The Tomlinson from Wing Tai; a freehold condo in
Grange Garden by Wing Tai and MCL Land; The Biltmore in Cuscaden
Road from Hong Leong; and Cairnhill Crest from Property Enterprises
Development
But buyers eyeing some of these projects may have
to wait a while - luxury home prices are just not high enough to
induce developers to put them on the market.
'Many companies have made provisions on their
sites, but even the written-down breakeven costs may be either at
the borderline or in some cases higher than the prices their
projects would be able to sell for today,' said Knight Frank
managing director Tan Tiong Cheng. 'These developers may also see no
urgency to dispose of projects on what they consider to be 'trophy'
sites.'
Property Enterprises Development's general manager
Annie Loke would not say when her firm will launch Cairnhill Crest,
being built on a freehold site in Cairnhill Circle and said to have
an estimated breakeven cost of about $1,400 psf.
'We have a good product and you don't sell a good
product in a bad market,' she said. 'People looking for high-end
homes now are mostly buying a second property as an investment or
for their children. They feel no urgency to buy now unless there are
consistent signs of economic recovery. These buyers can afford to
wait and may not be prepared to pay at this time. This is not the
time to launch an upmarket project.'
In other words, buyers who wait for luxury
launches may have to pay higher prices than those in the primary and
resale markets now.
Property agents love to tell potential buyers that
as the economy recovers, residential prices are expected to
strengthen. And a compelling reason now for many house hunters to
shop for a high-end home is the lure of bagging it at an attractive
price. Take Grange Residences, for example. Back in April 1997,
Marco Polo had said it planned to sell the luxury freehold condo 'in
the region of $2,000 per square foot'.
This week it finally began its preview for a dozen
units at an average price of $1,350 psf. Unit prices range from
$1,166 psf for a second-floor apartment to $1,543 psf for an
18th-storey unit. Potential buyers, no doubt, will be weighing the
pros and cons of buying Grange Residences against other luxury
apartments in mostly completed projects on the market.
At the famed Four Seasons Park, units have changed
hands at between $1,283 and $1,462 psf this year, according to SISV
Services' REALink 21 database. Scotts 28 apartments have sold for
$1,380 to $1,480 psf. 38 Draycott apartments have been selling at
between $1,062 psf and $1,463 psf. Cuscaden Residences units have
been going for $1,179 to $1,414 psf.
Elsewhere, BT understands that Wing Tai's The
Light at Cairnhill, now under construction, is selling at $1,400 to
$1,500 psf, and only a handful of units have been taken up since
sales started about a month ago. REALink 21 caveats show that
SembCorp group's The Edge on Cairnhill has been fetching $1,159 psf
to $1,510 psf this year. - by
Kalpana Rashiwala Singapore
Business Times 19 Sept 2002
Marco Polo looking at buying
property in '03 upcycle
For S'pore, CEO expects home prices
to fall by a maximum of 10% over the next 18 months
Marco Polo chief executive officer
David Lawrence, who has in the past disappointed analysts for a lack of
action at the company, says he is now seriously looking at buying property
assets on the next upcycle, probably in 2003.
'I am not clever enough to pick the
bottom, so I'd rather miss the bottom 10 per cent and buy on the next
up-cycle, which will probably be in 2003,' he said in a recent interview
with BT.
He said he is open to making
acquisitions in any segment of the property market - residential, office,
retail - and would consider buying both land and completed properties.
'Anything really that has a good
business plan and can produce superior return on equity,' said Mr
Lawrence.
He said he is still looking at the
China market as he declared to shareholders during Marco Polo's annual and
extraordinary general meetings in August this year.
'But now I am beginning to think that
maybe after the deflationary cycle has run its course, South-east Asia
might look attractive again. It's easier to begin in Singapore,' he said.
The current deflationary period
presents a good opportunity to buy 'good assets at reasonable prices'.
For Singapore, Mr Lawrence expects home
prices in virtually all segments to fall by a maximum of 10 per cent over
the next 18 months. 'Maximum, but it might not happen,' he pronounced.
Although Marco Polo prefers to play it
safe by buying on the upcycle, Mr Lawrence said: 'You're not going to go
wrong in the medium term if you buy now.'
'If you buy something, it goes 10 per
cent down, don't worry about it. Or if you miss the bottom and it goes up
10 per cent, don't worry about it. 'As long as you're within that 10 per
cent triangle, don't worry about it. No one's clever enough to buy (right
at the bottom).'
Earlier this year, the group completed
the plush Ardmore Park condominium, which has yielded pre-tax profits of
about $1 billion.
Now, the group is devoting its energies
to The Grange Residences condominium on the former Marco Polo Hotel site
on Tanglin Road.
Analysts noted that the group has
missed various opportunities to launch the project. Mr Lawrence now
indicates a likely launch date of around May 2003 for a completed product.
As for the Ardmore View condominium
block bought in 1999, Mr Lawrence said all leases expire at the end of
2003. 'And then we'll probably go ahead and redevelop it. We may not, it
just depends on the market.' - by
Kalpana Rashiwala Singapore
Business Times
Wheelock boosts HK Land stake
Wheelock,
the retail, property and telecommunications conglomerate, has
boosted its stake in Hongkong Land in a move which could spark
renewed speculation about a takeover of the company.
Hongkong Land, the biggest owner of prime property
in Central and part of the Jardines Group, confirmed that Wheelock,
which controls Wharf (Holdings) and retailer Lane Crawford, had
built a 4.02 per cent holding.
Its investment means it is now one of the single
largest shareholders in the company after Jardine Strategic
Holdings, which as a consequence of the group's controversial
cross-shareholding structure owns a 36.08 per cent stake in Hongkong
Land.
A Wheelock spokesman yesterday said its investment
was made purely on the basis of the company's belief that there were
improving prospects for Hong Kong's property market.
"From time to time we have owned shares in
various companies, and we think that Hongkong Land is a good
company, and a good one to hold - it has quality assets," she
said.
"We are pleased to see that the retail and
commercial property markets are coming back, and we believe they
will do very well."
However, Wheelock's investment adds to a growing
number of shareholders in Hongkong Land who some analysts have
speculated could try to exercise a pincer movement on the company in
a bid to take it over.
Hongkong Land is regarded as one of the most
valuable assets in the Jardines Group, owning and managing five
million square feet of office and retail space in Central, as well
as a wider spread of commercial and residential property
developments across Asia.
Wheelock said it also supported Hongkong Land's
redevelopment of Swire House, an office and retail development in
Central, which Wheelock said was taking place at the right time in
the property market's rebound.
Shares in Hongkong Land, which is listed in
Singapore and London, jumped to US$1.74 last month - their highest
point in the past 18 months. Yesterday they closed at US$1.59 on
volume of 2.29 million shares.
Wheelock and Wharf hold large portfolios of Hong
Kong-listed shares, most of which are said to be blue-chip
companies.
Wheelock has been a long-term shareholder in
Hongkong Land and a sizeable separate stake is also said to be
personally owned by Peter Woo Kwong-ching, whose family owns 60 per
cent of Wheelock.
"They have always been a shareholder . . .
but I believe that shareholding was just under 3 per cent,"
said Hongkong Land chief executive Nicholas Sallnow-Smith.
He said Hongkong Land was trading at a discount to
net asset value, which was US$2.02 as at last December, however he
claimed the discount was narrower than that of other property
companies.
Aside from Wheelock, Gainluck, a Hong Kong company
controlled by Charles Ho Tsu-kwok, owns a 3.1 per cent stake in
Hongkong Land.
Mr Ho's recently deceased grandfather, Ho Ying-chie
of Hong Kong Tobacco, also owned 3.33 per cent.
A further 4.69 per cent is owned by Cheung Kong
(Holdings) and Hutchison Whampoa, the two flagship companies of Li
Ka-shing, although 3.28 per cent of this stake is held through an
option with Credit Agricole Lazard Financial Products Bank.
Under the strict Bermuda takeover code, Hongkong
Land's shareholders cannot be seen to be acting in concert in any
activity relating to the company. However, as recent shareholder
activity has shown in other Jardines Group companies, there is
nothing to stop shareholders supporting proposals independently.
It emerged yesterday that the increase in
Wheelock's investment came just two days after directors of both
Jardine Strategic and Jardine Matheson put down a rebellion by a
dissident shareholder who tabled unprecedented restructuring
proposals at the groups' annual meeting two weeks ago.
The resolutions, which included proposals to merge
Jardine Matheson and Jardine Strategic into one company, were aimed
at unlocking shareholder value and breaking the stranglehold
exercised by the Keswick family, who wield effective control over
Jardines despite holding only 10 per cent.
- by Shee Kohli in London
South China
Morning Post 14 June 2000
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