Hiap Hoe’s Orchard Towers en bloc sale failed

Hiap Hoe announced on Feb 20 that the group’s collective Tengah EC sale for Orchard Towers had fallen through, as the collective sale committee did not meet the 80% threshold needed for the process to move forward. The registered proprietor of the 59 strata lots at Orchard Towers, which is a subsidiary of Hiap Hoe and composed of 21 shops and 38 offices, acquired the lots in November 2017 for $162 million.

On Feb 4, Hiap Hoe had set the reserve price for Orchard Towers’ collective sale at around $1.6 billion. The freehold mixed-use development consists of two 25-storey towers that are joined together by an overhead bridge, across Claymore Drive. It has a mixture of strata shops, offices and apartments.

On Feb 20, shares in Hiap Hoe closed at 75 cents, remaining flat. This outcome serves to highlight the importance and difficulty of obtaining the strong majority backing required for a successful collective sale.