The TPG Angelo Gordon-led consortium that owns Bugis Junction Towers is understood to be fielding interest for the 15-storey office building.

The guide price is said to be S$685 million, in line with the recent valuation of the office asset, which is above the Bugis MRT station.

This works out to about S$2,750 per square foot (psf) based on the net lettable area (NLA) of nearly 250,000 sq ft.

“Some market observers think there is potential to explore the potential of redeveloping the Bugis Junction complex site.”

The net yield is in the region of 3.5 per cent based on existing leases, which are generating a gross effective average monthly rental of about S$9.50 psf.

CBRE and Cushman & Wakefield have been appointed as joint exclusive marketing agents to find a buyer for Bugis Junction Towers.

The asset is said to be fully leased, with anchor tenant Enterprise Singapore occupying slightly more than half of the NLA; its lease was renewed recently.

Other high-profile tenants include InterContinental Hotels Group and Cathay Pacific.

Bugis Junction Towers is part of an integrated mixed-use project completed in the mid-1990s on a site with a 99-year leasehold tenure from September 1990, leaving a balance term of about 63.5 years.

The other components of the complex are the Bugis Junction mall, owned by CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust : C38U -0.43%, and the 406-key Frasers House, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Singapore.

Formerly the InterContinental Singapore, the hotel is 63.3 per cent-owned by Frasers Property : TQ5 0%, with TCC Group Investments owning the rest.

In 2022, Sun Venture was in exclusive due diligence for a potential acquisition of Bugis Junction Towers; the price was said to be close to S$680 million. In the end, a deal did not materialise.

The consortium led by US-based TPG Angelo Gordon – a diversified credit and real estate investing platform within TPG – picked up Bugis Junction Towers for S$547.5 million in late 2019 from Keppel Reit : K71U 0%.

Singapore-based TCRE Partners holds a minority stake in the consortium and is the asset manager for Bugis Junction Towers, which received its Temporary Occupation Permit in December 1994.

In 2021 and 2022, the consortium did a S$10 million refurbishment of the asset, which included a makeover of the lower facade of the office tower, in addition to sprucing up the main lobby, individual lift lobbies, lift interiors, toilets and common corridors.

Bugis Junction Towers has 12 floors of offices, from levels 4 to 15. The typical floor size is about 21,000 sq ft. There are two retail units at level 1.

Strata ownership

Bugis Junction Towers accounts for about 21 per cent of the total strata area and about 24 per cent of the total share value in the integrated development.

The office tower, mall and hotel occupy a 277,000 sq ft commercial-zoned site. Based on the existing gross floor area (GFA), the 4.5 plot ratio accorded to the site under the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s (URA) Master Plan 2025 has been maximised.

Nevertheless, some market observers think there is potential to explore redeveloping the site if the authorities are agreeable to grant additional GFA and permit a taller development under the URA’s Strategic Development Incentive Scheme.

The Bugis Junction complex is attractively located, with quadruple frontages along Victoria Street, Rochor Road, North Bridge Road and Middle Road.

The Bugis MRT station is a major interchange in Singapore, linking the East-West and Downtown lines, boosting the Bugis Junction complex’s connectivity to the Central Business District and the Orchard Road shopping belt.