Publishing firm buys $12.5m plot

Publishing firm buys $12.5m plot
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PUBLISHING company Eastern Holdings, which ventured into property development three years ago, has bought a 10,888 sq ft freehold plot in Grove Drive for $12.5 million.

The price for the plot - which is near Ghim Moh Road - works out to $1,148 per sq ft of potential gross floor area.

Eastern said the move into property has allowed the company to ride on Singapore’s booming property market for growth.

Its chairman and managing director, Mr Stephen Tay, said yesterday: ‘This is the beginning of a new era of growth for Eastern, brought about by the robust demand for residential and commercial spaces.’

Eastern had earlier secured an option to buy an adjacent plot for $10.3 million and now plans to amalgamate the two sites.

Together, the combined plots at 81 and 83 Grove Drive offer a total gross floor area of 42,837 sq ft.

In a statement yesterday, the group said it is still discussing specific plans for the sites but may develop cluster bungalows or cluster semi-detached houses.

Eastern entered the property business in 2004 when the property market showed the first tentative hints of recovery.

It was a way for the company to diversify and add growth to its revenue streams beyond publishing, it said.

Today, the group - which publishes magazine titles such as Motherhood, Teens and Motoring - has a property portfolio of commercial, industrial and residential properties.

Source: The Straits Times, 31 July 2007