More than 30 properties under Raffles brand name by 2011
By UMA SHANKARI
(SINGAPORE) Raffles Hotels n Resorts is expanding faster than planned, leading the hotel group to revise upward an early projection - made just four months ago - of the number of properties that will come under its wing.
Mrs Ee-Tan: Said Raffles Hotels n Resorts had stepped up its pace of expansion since its acquisition by Kingdom Holding and Colony Capital
According to the latest forecast, Raffles Hotels n Resorts will have about 30 properties under its brand name by 2011, up from 20 which the group said last November it was targetting to have by then, said Diana Ee-Tan, its managing director.
Speaking to The Business Times in her first media interview since taking the helm last June, Mrs Ee-Tan said Raffles Hotels & Resorts has stepped up its pace of expansion since its acquisition by Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal's Kingdom Holding and Los Angeles-based Colony Capital.
Just four months ago, Grant Kelley, chief executive of Colony Capital Asia, said he planned to add 10 more hotels and resorts to Raffles' portfolio over the next five years - effectively doubling the brand's portfolio.
But looking at the pace of growth since then, Mrs Ee-Tan said the group should be able to hit 30 properties by end-2011.
Since May 2006, the Raffles group has announced some seven additions to its portfolio, including Raffles St Lucia in the West Indies; Raffles Tianjin Hotel in China; and Raffles Resort Konottaa in the Maldives. The group now has 17 hotels in 16 locations.
'We will be announcing more deals in the next few months, and after that, we should be able to add another 10 properties,' said Mrs Ee-Tan. 'So by the end of the five years (2011), we will have about 30 properties.'
Another deal in the Caribbean will soon be announced, she said. For growth, the group is zooming in on Asia, North America and the Middle East. It places a lesser emphasis on Europe.
In North America, the Raffles brand could soon have a presence in San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Boston, Toronto and Vancouver, among other cities, Mrs Ee-Tan said. In Asia, one area of focus for the group will be secondary cities in China, which are seeing rapid economic growth. And in the Middle East, the group is in talks with 'several suitors' to enlarge its portfolio, she said. One possible location for a Raffles hotel in the Middle East is Abu Dhabi.
In line with the larger ownership's asset light strategy, Raffles will try to grow mainly through management contracts, Mrs Ee-Tan said. But the group remains open to taking equity stakes in projects if needed.
Raffles Hotels & Resorts is now part of Fairmont Raffles Hotels International, a hotel company headquartered in Toronto. The company owns and manages 120 hotels in 25 countries under four brand names - Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Raffles Hotels & Resorts, Swissotel Hotels & Resorts and Delta Hotels - as well as vacation ownership properties managed by Fairmont Heritage Place.
The group has been able to ramp up the speed of expansion under the new management because it can leverage on greater resources, Mrs Ee-Tan explained. There are now more funds to works with, and expansion is being driven by development teams based around the world, rather than just out of Singapore like it was before Kingdom Holding and Colony Capital entered the picture.
The Raffles chain also benefits from increased patronage as a result of a common online booking system.
But while the Raffles group has evolved some ways, Mrs Ee-Tan is quick to point out that what remains consistent is the Raffles brand name - associated with unparalleled luxury by its patrons.
'The Raffles brand continues to enjoy great recognition,' said Mrs Ee-Tan. 'And what has not changed is that the brand continues to be anchored in Singapore.' The new ownership, she said, understands that the Raffles brand has 'cachet', and will continue to stay true to its roots.
Most Raffles properties remain small in size, usually comprising between 150 and 250 rooms. This will be maintained to keep the Raffles feel of a residential sanctuary, Mrs Ee-Tan said.
In Singapore, the large Raffles The Plaza hotel will be rebranded as a Fairmont hotel, she said.
Even when Raffles Hotels n Resort is expanding rapidly, all properties will be vetted carefully to ensure they are of Raffles quality before the group decides to put the Raffles brand name on it, Mrs Ee-Tan said.
Showing posts with label Sing Holdings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sing Holdings. Show all posts
Friday, August 10, 2007
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Sing Holdings charts a balanced-portfolio course
Sesdaq-listed property developer Sing Holdings turned heads last month when it acquired Hillcourt Apartments on Cairnhill Road for $361 million or a whopping $1,542 psf per plot ratio.
That’s a new record for land in the Cairnhill area - and a whopping 40 per cent more than what CapitaLand paid for Silver Tower next door in September last year.
But the next site that Sing Holdings buys won’t be in this ’super luxury’ sector, says managing director Lee Sze Hao. The developer would like to ‘balance its portfolio’ by buying another site in the ‘upper-mid’ locations of East Coast or Bukit Timah.
While the ’super luxury’ market will continue to do well at least in the short term, Mr Lee reckons that demand in the upper-mid tier will also be strong.
East Coast is a perennial favourite among Singaporeans, while Bukit Timah boasts of popular schools like Anglo-Chinese School, Singapore Chinese Girls School and Nanyang Primary School, Mr Lee points out. Singaporeans who have sold prime district homes through collective sales are likely to seek replacement housing in these areas, he feels.
Late last year, Sing Holdings bought Finland Gardens on East Coast Terrace and Bellerive on Keng Chin Road in Bukit Timah, and is looking for more such sites.
The Bellerive plot will be redeveloped into a 16-storey apartment block with 50 units, while Finland Gardens will make way for a 68-unit cluster housing project. In Cairnhill, Hillcourt will be redeveloped into a 24-storey condo with about 130 units.
Sing Holdings stands out in another way - it attracts foreign investors in more ways than one. US-based real estate investment group Forum Partners took a sub-5 per cent stake in Sing Holdings at the time of the company’s initial public offer last year. And Forum Partners has since taken 30 per cent stakes in the Finland Gardens, Bellerive and Hillcourt projects.
Last week, Dubai Investment Group (DIG) took up a placement for 10 per cent of Sing Holdings. DIG is looking at taking a stake in the Hillcourt project and could take stakes in future Sing Holdings projects, Mr Lee says.
‘These partners/shareholders will also bring their international networks to our company, for example, when we market new projects.’DIG was sourced by placement agent HL Bank.
Sing Holdings first met Forum Partners in China a few years ago, soon after completing the Ocean Towers office development in Shanghai with Keppel Land and Hong Lim Investments. Sing Holdings and Forum Partners stayed in touch after that.
‘When we were listing on the Singapore Exchange, we invited them to invest in our company and they took 25 per cent of the placement tranche,’ says Mr Lee.
Sing Holdings has enough partners for now but will continue to forge new partnerships as it expands, he says. ‘If they bring us good deals, why not?’
Cynics may say you can be sure the market is overvalued when a low-profile local developer teams up with big international names to buy residential sites at record prices. But Mr Lee says: ‘If a new player comes in just to jump on the bandwagon, it would be quite different. But our company has been around for 40 years. We have the experience, the history, track record. I believe we know what we are doing.’
He also disagrees that he had overpaid for Hillcourt. Although the initial land cost is $1,542 psf ppr, the unit land price drops to $1,444 psf ppr after factoring in an extra 10 per cent gross floor area allowed for balconies.
‘The breakeven cost could be about $2,100 psf. In that location, it is quite easy to come across projects that are targeting selling prices of $2,500 to $2,800 psf, even $3,000 psf,’ Mr Lee says, alluding to SC Global’s Hilltops project at Cairnhill Circle.
For the year ended Dec 31, 2006, Sing Holdings posted net profit of $31.7 million, up from a proforma $6.7 million for 2005.
Last month, the group relaunched the remaining 15 units at its completed freehold project 38 Draycott Drive. It has sold eight of these at $1,903 psf on average and lifted the average price for the other seven to $1,988 psf, including the 18th floor penthouse, which is priced at $4.32 million.
The carrying cost of the project is $1,386 psf, which means the group should be able to book handsome gains in 2007, analysts reckon.
This year, it will also start booking the maiden gains from Meyer Residence, a 68-unit project that is fully sold.
Source: The Business Times, 17 April 2007
That’s a new record for land in the Cairnhill area - and a whopping 40 per cent more than what CapitaLand paid for Silver Tower next door in September last year.
But the next site that Sing Holdings buys won’t be in this ’super luxury’ sector, says managing director Lee Sze Hao. The developer would like to ‘balance its portfolio’ by buying another site in the ‘upper-mid’ locations of East Coast or Bukit Timah.
While the ’super luxury’ market will continue to do well at least in the short term, Mr Lee reckons that demand in the upper-mid tier will also be strong.
East Coast is a perennial favourite among Singaporeans, while Bukit Timah boasts of popular schools like Anglo-Chinese School, Singapore Chinese Girls School and Nanyang Primary School, Mr Lee points out. Singaporeans who have sold prime district homes through collective sales are likely to seek replacement housing in these areas, he feels.
Late last year, Sing Holdings bought Finland Gardens on East Coast Terrace and Bellerive on Keng Chin Road in Bukit Timah, and is looking for more such sites.
The Bellerive plot will be redeveloped into a 16-storey apartment block with 50 units, while Finland Gardens will make way for a 68-unit cluster housing project. In Cairnhill, Hillcourt will be redeveloped into a 24-storey condo with about 130 units.
Sing Holdings stands out in another way - it attracts foreign investors in more ways than one. US-based real estate investment group Forum Partners took a sub-5 per cent stake in Sing Holdings at the time of the company’s initial public offer last year. And Forum Partners has since taken 30 per cent stakes in the Finland Gardens, Bellerive and Hillcourt projects.
Last week, Dubai Investment Group (DIG) took up a placement for 10 per cent of Sing Holdings. DIG is looking at taking a stake in the Hillcourt project and could take stakes in future Sing Holdings projects, Mr Lee says.
‘These partners/shareholders will also bring their international networks to our company, for example, when we market new projects.’DIG was sourced by placement agent HL Bank.
Sing Holdings first met Forum Partners in China a few years ago, soon after completing the Ocean Towers office development in Shanghai with Keppel Land and Hong Lim Investments. Sing Holdings and Forum Partners stayed in touch after that.
‘When we were listing on the Singapore Exchange, we invited them to invest in our company and they took 25 per cent of the placement tranche,’ says Mr Lee.
Sing Holdings has enough partners for now but will continue to forge new partnerships as it expands, he says. ‘If they bring us good deals, why not?’
Cynics may say you can be sure the market is overvalued when a low-profile local developer teams up with big international names to buy residential sites at record prices. But Mr Lee says: ‘If a new player comes in just to jump on the bandwagon, it would be quite different. But our company has been around for 40 years. We have the experience, the history, track record. I believe we know what we are doing.’
He also disagrees that he had overpaid for Hillcourt. Although the initial land cost is $1,542 psf ppr, the unit land price drops to $1,444 psf ppr after factoring in an extra 10 per cent gross floor area allowed for balconies.
‘The breakeven cost could be about $2,100 psf. In that location, it is quite easy to come across projects that are targeting selling prices of $2,500 to $2,800 psf, even $3,000 psf,’ Mr Lee says, alluding to SC Global’s Hilltops project at Cairnhill Circle.
For the year ended Dec 31, 2006, Sing Holdings posted net profit of $31.7 million, up from a proforma $6.7 million for 2005.
Last month, the group relaunched the remaining 15 units at its completed freehold project 38 Draycott Drive. It has sold eight of these at $1,903 psf on average and lifted the average price for the other seven to $1,988 psf, including the 18th floor penthouse, which is priced at $4.32 million.
The carrying cost of the project is $1,386 psf, which means the group should be able to book handsome gains in 2007, analysts reckon.
This year, it will also start booking the maiden gains from Meyer Residence, a 68-unit project that is fully sold.
Source: The Business Times, 17 April 2007
Friday, March 30, 2007
Sing Holdings plans to place out 40m new shares
Sing Holdings plans to place out 40m new shares
Property firm Sing Holdings plans to place up to 40 million new shares to raise $16.8 million to fund its recent acquisitions.
The new shares will be priced at $0.43 each, representing a 10% discount to the volume weighted average price for trades done in Sing Holdings' shares on Wednesday.
The new shares represent 17.6% of the issued share capital of Sing Holdings.
Property firm Sing Holdings plans to place up to 40 million new shares to raise $16.8 million to fund its recent acquisitions.
The new shares will be priced at $0.43 each, representing a 10% discount to the volume weighted average price for trades done in Sing Holdings' shares on Wednesday.
The new shares represent 17.6% of the issued share capital of Sing Holdings.
Sing Holdings plans to place out 40m new shares
Sing Holdings plans to place out 40m new shares
Property firm Sing Holdings plans to place up to 40 million new shares to raise $16.8 million to fund its recent acquisitions.
The new shares will be priced at $0.43 each, representing a 10% discount to the volume weighted average price for trades done in Sing Holdings' shares on Wednesday.
The new shares represent 17.6% of the issued share capital of Sing Holdings.
Property firm Sing Holdings plans to place up to 40 million new shares to raise $16.8 million to fund its recent acquisitions.
The new shares will be priced at $0.43 each, representing a 10% discount to the volume weighted average price for trades done in Sing Holdings' shares on Wednesday.
The new shares represent 17.6% of the issued share capital of Sing Holdings.
Sing Holdings plans to place out 40m new shares
Sing Holdings plans to place out 40m new shares
Property firm Sing Holdings plans to place up to 40 million new shares to raise $16.8 million to fund its recent acquisitions.
The new shares will be priced at $0.43 each, representing a 10% discount to the volume weighted average price for trades done in Sing Holdings' shares on Wednesday.
The new shares represent 17.6% of the issued share capital of Sing Holdings.
Property firm Sing Holdings plans to place up to 40 million new shares to raise $16.8 million to fund its recent acquisitions.
The new shares will be priced at $0.43 each, representing a 10% discount to the volume weighted average price for trades done in Sing Holdings' shares on Wednesday.
The new shares represent 17.6% of the issued share capital of Sing Holdings.
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