Ming Arcade, a freehold commercial site completed in 1982, has been sold to Royal Group for S$172 million by public tender.
The sale price of S$172 million translates to S$3,125 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) which exceeded the reserve price of S$140 million when it was put up for sale in mid November by the exclusive marketing agent Savills Singapore.
Ming Arcade’s owners are represented by Thomas Toh, solicitor of CTLC Law Corporation.
The buyer is the Royal Group of Companies, a Singapore-based, single-family office founded by its chairman Asok Kumar Hiranandani. They own Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa and Singapore’s upcoming second Raffles Hotel in Sentosa which will house an exclusive 62 villas’ only luxury hotel.
Ming Arcade sits on a plot of approximately 12,132 square feet and is zoned ''commercial'' under the 2019 Master Plan. Therefore, Royal Group will not have to pay additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD).
There are 88 units in the seven-storey commercial complex built by a subsidiary of People's Park Development owned by the late Ho Kok Cheong.
It has three basement levels and an existing verified development baseline of 55,046 square feet, equivalent to a plot ratio of 4.54. It has a height control of up to 20 storeys according to URA.
Back in the 1980s, Ming Arcade was popular for its music scene, housing the Rainbow Lounge - the first theatre-disco lounge and music venue in Singapore.
Ming Arcade is only ten minutes walk from Orchard MRT station which appeals to Asian ultra-high-net-worth buyers and family offices.