CBRE Leads Brokerage Wins with Deutsche Shed Deal as Asia Recovers Mingtiandi Broker Battle

Asia’s real estate markets have reawakened in May with the world’s largest brokerages handling a string of investment and leasing transactions in Hong Kong, mainland China and Singapore after deals came to a near halt during April, according to data gathered by Mingtiandi.

CBRE tops Mingtiandi’s deal charts this week with the sale of a Singapore warehouse property to Deutsche Bank’s asset management arm on behalf of an undisclosed private fund, in a deal which marked the city’s first major logistics transaction of the year.

Meanwhile in Hong Kong, the same US-headquartered consultancy reportedly notched a leasing deal on behalf of Hony Capital in Two IFC, securing new digs for the mainland private equity investor at a 35 percent discount from the Central property’s peak rents in 2017.

Also in the Asian financial hub’s most expensive district, Colliers has been helping Pamfleet to sell the Travelodge Central Hollywood Road hotel, with Hanison Construction Holdings said to be in due diligence on the budget hotel property.

Up on the mainland, big sheds were all the rage as China shifts further toward an all e-commerce lifestyle, with CBRE picking up appointments from ESR, Logos and Goodman to lease space in Guangdong and Zhejiang.

Singapore

CBRE brokered the sale on behalf of an undisclosed private fund of a 403,000 square foot (37,440 square metre) warehouse at 11 Sunview Way in Jurong. Deutsche Bank’s asset management arm, DWS, acquired the property through its Asia core real estate strategy for a price said to be between S$75 million ($53 million) to S$100 million. The 2012-vintage facility, which comprises a four-storey ramp-up warehouse and ancillary office space, serves as the APAC headquarters for its sole tenant, NYSE-listed 3PL operator XPO Logistics. Read more>>

JLL acted as the exclusive capital markets advisor to Alibaba Singapore on the purchase of a 50 percent stake in Singapore’s AXA Tower from a consortium led by Perennial Real Estate Holdings. The e-commerce giant agreed to buy the stake in a deal which values the office property at 8 Shenton Way at S$1.68 billion ($1.2 billion). Alibaba and the Perennial-led consortium now plan to redevelop the 50-storey grade A office property into a new commercial, hotel and residential complex spanning a gross floor area of 1.55 million square feet. Read more>>

Hong Kong

CBRE is said to have brokered the lease of an upper level unit in Hong Kong’s Two International Finance Centre for HK$130 ($17) per square foot per month on behalf of mainland private equity investment manager Hony Capital. The Beijing-based firm, which is a unit of investment holding company Legend Holdings, has reportedly taken on 10,000 square feet (929 square metres) in Hongkong Land’s mega-complex in Central for a total of about HK$1.3 million per month, according to a report in the Hong Kong Economic Times. The reported rent is a 35 percent less than what an equivalent space in the property had leased for two and a half years ago. Read more>>

Colliers has been appointed by Hong Kong private equity firm Pamfleet and Singapore-listed hotel investment company ICP as sole sales agent for the sale of the Travelodge Central Hollywood Road. Hanison Construction Holdings is said to be in due diligence on the 148-key hotel after offering a reported HK$930 million ($120 million) for the mid-scale hotel. The joint owners are said to have accepted the offer, despite it undercutting last year’s asking price of HK$1.4 billion by 34 percent. Read more>>

JLL acted as auctioneer for the compulsory sale of the Kim Hing Mansions in Tsim Sha Tsui to Excel Castle International (HK) Limited at a valuation of HK$652.5 million. Located at 49 to 51 Kimberley Road, the nine-storey commercial and residential building, which was completed in 1964, occupies a 7,200 square foot site and is zoned for commercial use. The registered directors of Excel Castle are board members of mainland registered Shenzhen Nanrui Technology Limited, which is backed by Shanghai-listed Changyuan Group. Changyuan, in turn, is controlled by Li Ka-shing’s CK Hutchison. Read more>>

CBRE has been appointed to sell a commercial redevelopment project at 189 Johnston Road in Wan Chai. Mingtiandi understands that the owner is Phoenix Property Investors and the asking price for the property, which can yield up to 22,000 square feet (2,044 square metres) of gross floor area, is HK$330 million ($43 million). Located 250 metres from Wan Chai MTR station, the site could fetch HK$15,000 per square foot of potential gross floor area if sold at the HK$330 million asking price. Read more>>

CBRE has been appointed by the owners of a commercial redevelopment site at 519-521 Hennessy Road in Causeway Bay at a reported asking price of HK$1 billion. Based on the potential gross floor area of 30,000 square feet, the sellers are aiming to fetch HK$33,333 per square foot from the sale of the 999-year leasehold property. The owners are said to be Hong Kong musical instrument retailer Tom Lee Music together with the family office of the Philippines’ Pena clan. Read more>>

Knight Frank has been appointed to manage the compulsory sale by auction of the remaining space in 326, 328, 330 and 332 Des Voeux Road West together with 11A, 11B, 11C and 11D Sai On Lane, after Edwin Leong Siu-hung’s Tai Hung Fai Enterprise successfully applied for the transaction. The privately held builder plans to redevelop the property in Sai Ying Pun, which is valued in the public auction at HK$700 million, into a 53,718 square foot residential tower. Read more>>

Local property agent Centaline has been appointed to sell three units covering 11,624 square feet of retail space in the Yuen King Building at 26-36 Sai Yeung Choi Street South and 51A-51B Shantung Street at an asking price of HK$888 million. The owner, group chairman and chief executive officer of Prince Jewellery and Watch Company Limited, Jimmy Tang, is currently leasing the units at approximately HK$3 million per month. Read More>>

Savills has been appointed by Warburg Pincus-backed fund manager KaiLong to sell 41 car parking units at the Overseas Trust Bank Building in Wanchai. Located at 160 Gloucester Road, the set of parking spots carry an asking price of HK$120 million. Read More>>

Mainland China

CBRE has been appointed by China Vanke and Xi’an Qujiang Cultural Industry Investment Group as leasing agent for the Qujiang Creative Circle project in Xian. Located at the intersection of Yanxiang Road, Huangqutou Road and Jindu Road in Qujiang New District, the cultural complex – which contains a theatre, exhibition space and offices – has a total gross floor area of 119,395 square metres. Read more>>

CBRE has been appointed by Asia Pacific logistics developer Logos as the exclusive leasing agent for a trio of distribution centres in northern Zhejiang province. Both Logos Haining Smart Manufacturing Industry Park, which is due to be completed by the end of July 2021 and Logos Jiaxing Logistics Park, which is expected to open by the end of August, are facilities of just over 100,000 square metres in the city of Jiaxing, near Shanghai. The 99,064 square metre Logos Shaoxing Logistics Park is due to open by March next year. Read more>>

CBRE has been appointed by ESR as exclusive leasing agent for the Hong Kong-listed warehouse developer and fund manager’s logistics facility in Hangzhou’s Yuhang Economic and Technological Development Zone. The ESR Yuhang Great Southeast Industrial and Logistics Park, which is due to be completed by the end of June this year, has a gross floor area of approximately 100,000 square metres and is located in the Zhejiang capital’s Yuhang district. Read more>>

JLL has been appointed by Infinitus Property Investment, a unit of Lee Kum Kee’s LKK Health Products Group, as chief leasing agent for the office component of the Zaha Hadid-designed Infinitus Plaza in Guangzhou. Located in Guangzhou’s Baiyun New Town, the 167,000 square metre commercial complex topped out in September 2019 and is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2020. Read more>>

CBRE has been appointed by Australia-based logistics developer Goodman Group as the chief leasing agent for the 224,874 square metre third phase of its Goodman Huiyang Industrial Park in Guangdong’s Huiyang Economic Development Zone. This latest element of the 375,424 square metre project just northeast of Shenzhen in the city of Huizhou is expected to be completed in 2021. Read more>>

Research for this story was provided by Li Yanxia and Stephanie Li. Mingtiandi’s Broker Battle series is published twice monthly on Tuesdays.