THE wave of office investment sales continues as investors ride on the Singapore office rental recovery story. Two substantial deals involving strata offices were recently sealed - one in Suntec City, and the other at The Octagon in Cecil Street.

A fund managed by ARA Asset Management is understood to have sold five office floors in Suntec Tower One and a floor in the adjacent Tower Two for a total of about S$160 million.

This works out to an average price of about S$2,600 per square foot on the total strata area of 61,667 sq ft.

A fund managed by Alpha Investment Partners is the buyer, The Business Times understands.

The transaction was through the sales of shares in companies that own the office space.

The bulk of the space, 53,863 sq ft, is on Levels 24, 25, 34, 35 and 36 of Suntec Tower One; the five floors are leased to German chemicals giant BASF.

The fourth floor of Tower Two, with 7,804 sq ft strata area, is leased to multiple tenants.

Both towers are 45 storeys high and on land with a 99-year leasehold tenure that started on March 1, 1989; about 69 years remains on the lease.

They are part of the Suntec City mega development in the Marina Centre locale, which has five office towers (four at 45 storeys high and one, 18 storeys high), a mall and an exhibition and convention centre.

The recent strata office transaction between ARA and Alpha is expected to be completed in a couple of months. It is understood to have been brokered by Sakal Real Estate Partners, a property investment advisory and brokerage firm.

ARA had acquired the space in two tranches for a total of S$143.8 million in 2016: In July, it bought the fourth level of Tower Two for S$14.5 million or S$1,858 psf; in December, it picked up the five floors in Tower One for S$129.3 million or S$2,400 psf from BASF in a sale-and-leaseback deal.

Separately, along Cecil Street in the traditional Central Business District (CBD), a Singapore-incorporated company controlled by the Murdaya family behind Indonesian conglomerate Central Cipta Murdaya, is increasing its presence at The Octagon by purchasing another three levels of the 25-storey freehold block.

In the latest deal, the family is buying Levels 14, 15 and 17 for nearly S$45.5 million; this works out to S$2,450 psf based on the 18,568 sq ft total strata area.

The seller is Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation. When contacted by BT, the bank said: "The three floors at The Octagon are part of OCBC Group's historical property holdings. The premises are no longer being used for the bank's operations."

Cushman & Wakefield brokered the transaction.

In May last year, the Murdayas shelled out about S$30.3 million for levels nine and 10 of The Octagon; the price they paid for that deal also worked out to S$2,450 psf.

The family already owns the top two floors of the 25-storey building.