Francis Law Sells Kowloon Retail Podium for 67% Below Pre-Pandemic Price

Real estate investor Francis Law has completed the HK$880 million ($113 million) sale of a Kowloon retail podium to City University of Hong Kong, with the property changing hands at a 67 percent discount to its pre-pandemic guide price.

The sale and purchase agreement for the asset at 94 Granville Road in Tsim Sha Tsui was signed in December and registered with the Lands Department on Thursday, according to a market source who spoke to Mingtiandi on Friday.

The transaction price for the seven-storey podium is down from a pre-COVID guide price of HK$2.7 billion and an estimated market value of HK$1.68 billion to HK$1.92 billion less than two years ago, when Savills launched a previous marketing campaign. Local brokerage Centaline advised Law on the eventual HK$880 million sale.

The podium forms the mall portion of the Inter-Continental Plaza office building and spans 90,222 square feet (8,382 square metres) of gross floor area, with Kowloon Tong-based CityU having paid HK$9,754 ($1,253) per square foot of GFA for the property.

30-Year Odyssey

Law, the executive director of property investment firm Toyo Mall Ltd, is the second son of Lo Siu-tong, founder of developer Yu Tai Hing Co. The property scion bought the retail podium for HK$433 million in 1994 and spent HK$100 million between 2017 and 2018 on renovations, installing new elevators, high-definition glass curtain walls, large LED screens and four advertising signs, according to Hong Kong newspaper Wen Wei Po.

Savills said Law spent a total of HK$230 million between 2017 and 2020 on renovations to the asset, which represents more than 50 percent of the undivided share of Inter-Continental Plaza. New owner CityU has free rein to change the layout and usage of the seven vacant floors, which range from 10,316 to 14,477 square feet of gross area.

Law disposed of the Tsim Sha Tsui asset after divesting a four-storey retail podium in Hong Kong Island’s North Point area earlier this month. The 1990s-era property, measuring 43,542 square feet of GFA at the foot of the Marble Garden housing block, was sold for HK$250 million ($32.1 million) to the Hong Kong Buddhist Association, as confirmed by a market source.

Savills announced the Marble Garden deal’s completion last week without disclosing the sale price, which translates to HK$5,742 ($737) per square foot of GFA.

Schools Out for Deals

CityU’s buy at 94 Granville Road comes on the heels of Hong Kong Metropolitan University completing its purchase of the former Cheung Kei Center for HK$2.65 billion ($341 million), as announced by Savills on Wednesday.

Mingtiandi reported in November that HKMU had agreed to buy One HarbourGate, the Kowloon office building that once served as the Hong Kong headquarters of defaulted mainland property firm Cheung Kei Group, after the asset lost nearly two-thirds of its value over the past two years.

HKMU, which has been seeking additional campus space, in June said it had bought the Urbanwood Hung Hom hotel, located a 16-minute walk from One HarbourGate, for use as student housing.