Singapore’s LHN Selling Former Coliwoo Property in Run-Up to SGX Mainboard Debut

Singapore’s LHN Group has agreed to sell a formerly Coliwoo-branded co-living hotel in the city-state’s Geylang area for S$25.8 million ($20 million), as the listed builder looks to streamline operations and shift assets off its books.

The S$10.7 million in net proceeds from the 27-key property at 115 Geylang Road is expected to strengthen LHN’s cash flow and provide working capital, the group said Wednesday in a release. The unrelated third-party buyer, CWL Properties, is wholly owned by an individual, Chia Teo Meng.

LHN is selling the 1960s-era shophouse conversion as the group tools up for an SGX listing of Coliwoo after spinning off the living sector strategy from the main business last year. In Wednesday’s announcement, the company led by chairman Kelvin Lim framed the disposal as part of a plan to fine-tune the group’s business structure.

“This divestment reflects the group’s disciplined approach to capital management and portfolio optimisation,” LHN said. “By unlocking the value of this asset, the group aims to enhance its financial flexibility to pursue emerging opportunities in our core business segments.”

Habyt-Branded Hotel

LHN acquired 115 Geylang Road in 2021 for S$13.5 million and opened the renovated property in 2022 as Coliwoo Hotel Gay World, offering five co-living room types including two-storey duplex lofts. The hotel now operates as Habyt Kallang after European co-living outfit Habyt took over management from Coliwoo last year.

The asset is one of three freehold co-living properties put up for sale by LHN in October and marketed by JLL, the others being the 39-key 471 Balestier Road (now operating as Habyt Studios at Novena) and the 60-key 404 Pasir Panjang Road (operating as Coliwoo Hotel Pasir Panjang).

“With the government’s decision to cease issuance of freehold sites, freehold properties tend to be held for generations and are rarely available for sale due to their strong wealth preservation characteristics,” said Ervin Seow, vice president for investment sales in the hotels and hospitality group at JLL Singapore. “The freehold portfolio combines both aspects and allows for an incoming investor to acquire quality assets while gaining exposure to the continued growth of the co-living sector.”

In selling the Geylang asset for S$955,556 ($740,741) per key, LHN sees a chance to realise its investment and secure more cash for future development and acquisitions, the group said in a filing with the Singapore Exchange. The transaction is expected to close by the end of July.

Institutional Interest

LHN applied to list Coliwoo on the mainboard of the Singapore Exchange last month amid growing interest in the city-state’s rental residential space from global players including BlackRock and Bain Capital.

In February, Warburg Pincus-backed operator Weave Living opened two new properties in Singapore, expanding the regional platform’s Lion City portfolio to three locations with a total of 330 units. The company led by entrepreneur Sachin Doshi had acquired one of the two properties, Weave Suites Hillside, for S$148 million in early 2024 through a joint venture with a BlackRock fund.

Mingtiandi reported earlier this month that BlackRock had teamed with Malaysia’s YTL Corp to acquire Citadines Raffles Place, the residential element of downtown Singapore’s CapitaSpring building, in a S$280 million deal for a potential conversion into a hotel.

Bain Capital also recently bet on Singapore’s rental residential sector with its purchase of the Avery Lodge worker housing portfolio from Blackstone for S$750 million after those assets were first put on the market in mid-2024.