KR Space Rethinks Lease in Hong Kong's The Center

The world’s most expensive building is looking less and less like a bargain

Leading today’s Hong Kong real estate news, shared workspace provider KR Space has balked at paying HK$4.3 million monthly for office space it had planned to rent at The Center on Queen’s Road, with a report in the Apple Daily saying the Jack Ma-backed firm is renegotiating the eight-year deal as the office market softens. And after being sued for past rent on its retail stores, the end is nigh for HMV in Hong Kong, with the entertainment giant announcing that it will shutter its shops. No word, however, on whether this finally marks the end of CDs. Read about these stories and more from the world’s most expensive real estate market.

KR Space Backs Away From Leasing Two Floors in The Center

Beijing-based shared workspace provider KR Space is reportedly renegotiating a planned eight-year lease for the 38th and 39th floors at The Center, at 99 Queen’s Road Central, which it had earlier intended to rent for HK$4.3 million per month ($550,164) or HK$85 per square foot per month, Apple Daily said.

Seven buyers had taken over 75 percent ownership of the Central district skyscraper for HK$40 billion last year, but the new owners have switched from a strategy of selling units in the building to leasing them, at an average price ranging from HK$90 to HK$110 per square foot per month, amid a declining market. Read more>>

HMV to End HK Retail Operations

HMV Retail, the Hong Kong-based unit of what was once the UK’s biggest seller of music and movies, announced on Tuesday that it will wind up its stores in Hong Kong, after being sued by its landlords over past rent.

Before declaring itself insolvent, HMV Digital China Group had been sued by money lender Lei Shing Hong Securities, which had also threatened to foreclose on a home in the mid-levels that the retailer had pledged as security for loans, according to an Apple Daily report. Read more>>

Admiralty Centre Unit Changes Hands for HK$23 Million

A unit on the 11th floor of the Admiralty Centre office complex changed hands recently for HK$230 million ($29.4 million), or an average price of HK$35,647 per square foot, according to a report in the Hong Kong Economic Times.

The seller earned a profit of 25 percent, or HK$46 million, after holding the 6,452 square foot (599 square metre) space for six months. Read more>>

BOA Tower Office Sells for HK$53M

An unnamed owner has sold a 1,361 square foot (126 square metre) unit on the 33rd floor of the Bank of America Tower in Admiralty for HK$53 million ($6.8 million), according to a Hong Kong Economic Times report.

The office spaces located near the top of the 38th-floor skyscraper works out to an average price of just HK$39,000 per square foot, lower than the market price, the report said. Read more>>

Jordan Shopfront Sells at HK$11M Loss

A 355 square foot (33 square metre) shopfront on Shanghai Street in Yau Ma Tei has sold for HK$14 million, with the owner taking a loss of nearly HK11 million on the HK$23.75 million paid for the property in 2015 if the double-stamping tax, agency commissions and other expenses the owner paid on the property are included.

The space is currently being used as a diner at a monthly rent of HK$29,000, or HK$82 per square foot per month. Read more>>

Henderson Land Boss Donates HK$150M to HKU

Lee Shau-Kee, the Chairman of Hong Kong-listed developer Henderson Land Group, has donated HK$150 million ($19 million) to The University of Hong Kong to build an institute for the scientific study of human wisdom, the university announced on Monday.

Henderson Land has been an active participant in Hong Kong’s property market, winning the bid for a parcel of land in Sham Shui Po in October and also preparing to open two new residential developments in Kowloon next year. Read more>>

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