90-key city-fringe freehold hotel near Farrer Park MRT station launched for sale

Vendor is seeking offers in excess of $70 million

March 13, 2019

SINGAPORE – JLL, as the exclusive marketing agent, is pleased to offer for sale Claremont Hotel, a freehold eight-storey 90-room hotel located 100-metres from Farrer Park MRT station.

Occupying a prominent corner plot along Serangoon Road, the freehold hotel occupies a land area of 4,838 sf and an estimated gross floor area of 30,591 sf. Spanning eight stories, The Claremont Hotel offers 90 rooms with sizes ranging from 16 to 36 sqm and an average room size of 19 sqm. Based on the Master Plan 2014, the site is zoned “Hotel” with a Gross Plot Ratio of 3.0. The hotel is offered for sale either with a one-year sale and leaseback arrangement in place or with vacant possession.

The Claremont Hotel is conveniently located within a short 100-metres walk from Farrer Park MRT Station. It is easily connected to the rest of the island via Pan Island Expressway (PIE), Central Expressway (CTE) and East Coast Parkway (ECP). Orchard Road and Raffles Place is a short 10-minutes’ drive, while Changi International Airport is a short 20-minutes’ drive.

Strategically located in the Farrer Park area and in close proximity to the city, the hotel is in the heart of both a historical district and a bustling tourism, commercial and medical hub. It is well-served by a myriad of trendy F&B and lifestyle offerings. Key developments nearby includes City Square Mall, Park Hotel at Farrer Park and Connexion – an integrated healthcare and hospitality complex housing Farrer Park Medical Centre and Farrer Park Hospital amongst others.

The area is presently undergoing rejuvenation with several upcoming developments under way. These include Centrium Square, a 19-storey commercial development comprising of retail, medical suites and office space as well as Uptown @ Farrer, a mixed-use development by Low Kheng Huat that consist of retail, residential and a 240-unit serviced residence operated by lyf Farrer Park Singapore.

Mr Adam Bury, Senior Vice President, at JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group, commented: “The Singapore hotel market saw good performance in 2018, with RevPAR having risen across the market. This is a reflection of continued improvements in visitor arrivals, in part of a reflection of the Terminal 4 at Changi Airport, whilst new supply to the market has been limited and is expected to remain low as a percentage of overall supply. Market wide RevPAR is expected to rise further in 2019 and the medium-long term fundamentals for the market look good as Singapore maintains, and strengthens, its position as the hub of Southeast Asia. Underpinned by these fundamentals, we expect investors to remain buoyant for opportunities in the sector.”

Mr Clemence Lee, Senior Director, JLL Singapore Capital Markets, said: “With the recent spike in buying interest for hotels and hotel sites in Singapore, the owner has received multiple unsolicited offers for The Claremont Hotel. They have hence decided to engage JLL to run an official Expression of Interest (EOI) exercise to obtain the best offer from the market.

Freehold hotels with a palatable investment quantum of $50 to $100 million in Singapore are tightly held and seldom put into the market. We expect strong interest from real estate funds, developers, family offices, and hotel operators who are looking to acquire a centrally-located freehold hotel in a popular tourist destination that is undergoing rejuvenation and gentrification.”

With a short-term leaseback in place, the new owner will have some time to decide how they would like to carry out asset enhancement initiatives to refurbish and reposition the property. The new owner will have the flexibility to explore a number of management options, such as self-management or engaging an independent operator”, he added.

Interest for freehold hotels and hotel land has been strong over the past year. Recent freehold hotel land transactions include Golden Wall Centre, which was transacted at $276.2 million ($2,331 psf ppr) and Waterloo Apartments, which was transacted at $131 million ($2,172 psf ppr). Comparable freehold hotel transactions include Wangz Hotel, which was sold at $46 million ($1.12 million per key) and Wanderlust Hotel, which was sold at $37 million (S$1.28 million per key).

The vendor is seeking offers in excess of $70 million for Claremont Hotel. This reflects around $2,300 psf on the estimated GFA or around $780,000 per key.

As the property sits on land zoned for hotel use, foreigners are eligible to purchase the building. There is also no Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) or Seller’s Stamp Duty (SSD) imposed on the purchase of the property. 

The property is being marketed through an Expression of Interest exercise, which will close on Thursday, 18 April 2019, at 3pm.

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Note to editors:

1.    High resolution photographs of Claremont Hotel are available here.

About JLL


JLL (NYSE: JLL) is a leading professional services firm that specializes in real estate and investment management. Our vision is to reimagine the world of real estate, creating rewarding opportunities and amazing spaces where people can achieve their ambitions. In doing so, we will build a better tomorrow for our clients, our people and our communities. JLL is a Fortune 500 company with annual revenue of $16.3 billion, operations in over 80 countries and a global workforce of over 90,000 as of December 31, 2018. JLL is the brand name, and a registered trademark, of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated. For further information, visit jll.com

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