Oakswood Heights on Spottiswoode Park Road for $132 million.

Property group UOL yesterday said it has agreed to buy through a collective sale the freehold Oakswood Heights on Spottiswoode Park Road for $132 million.

The price paid for the 63,700 sq ft site works out to $740 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr), taking into account a 2.8 plot ratio. No development charge is expected to be paid for the site.

UOL said that it will develop the property together with an adjoining site it acquired earlier this year. In April, UOL paid $79.5 million - or $732 psf ppr including an estimated $167,000 development charge - for the 38,900 sq ft Spottiswoode Apartment next door. Together, both sites will give UOL a land area of 102,600 sq ft to work with.

The company told BT yesterday that it will build a high-rise residential project of about 250 units on the amalgamated sites - meaning that the apartments could average 1,100 sq ft each. Judging by the location, market watchers said the project, which UOL said will be launched next year, will probably be in the upper mid-range segment.

They estimate that UOL’s breakeven cost for the project could be about $1,150 psf ppr.

UOL said that both the acquisition of Oakswood Heights and the subsequent redevelopment will be financed by internal funds and bank borrowings.

The purchase is not expected to have a material financial impact on the group’s net tangible assets per share or earnings per share for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2007, the company said.

UOL’s shares closed five cents up at $5.45 yesterday. The company’s stock has climbed 25.6 per cent since the start of the year.

Source: The Business Times, 08 June 2007