JL Family Office – set up by ARA Asset Management co-founder John Lim – is selling a conservation shophouse at 65 Club Street for S$21 million.

This is S$5.3 million or 33.8 per cent higher than the S$15.7 million it paid for the 999-year leasehold property in 2020.

The buyer is Singapore-incorporated Asia Success Management, the primary business of which is single/multiple family office activities.

The Business Times understands that the company is linked to Dai Jianliang, the chairman of Excellent Associates Group, which is based in Hong Kong and has a business presence in China, Laos and the Philippines.

The group is involved in commercial/industrial property development and management; mining; warehouse/logistics; and financial investment, according to its website.

Dai is a China citizen and Singapore permanent resident (PR).

“Singapore will remain an attractive safe haven for bona-fide foreigners, family offices, HNWIs and UHNWIs.” - Jacqueline Wong of JQT Private

The 65 Club Street property is being sold by the real estate division of JL Family Office, The Land Managers, which was founded by John Lim’s son Andy under the family office in 2020.

Knight Frank Singapore was exclusively appointed to run a private expression of interest (EOI) exercise for 65 Club Street which closed in June.

Dayna Ang, senior manager of capital markets at the property consulting group and who managed the EOI exercise, said: “With interest rates easing, we are seeing enquiries pick up and renewed appetite from private capital, including ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs). Freehold and 999-year leasehold conservation shophouses in Districts 1 and 2 remain highly coveted; they are viewed as prized assets offering stability and capital preservation amid the ongoing flight to quality.”

The S$21 million fetched for 65 Club Street works out to S$3,889 per square foot (psf) based on the estimated gross floor area of 5,400 square feet (sq ft). Perched on an elevated cul-de-sac, the corner shophouse has three storeys and a mezzanine level. It is diagonally opposite the Chinese Weekly Entertainment Club at 76 Club Street, a private millionaire’s club with a history dating back to the 1890s.

Knight Frank marketed 65 Club Street on a vacant possession basis. JL Family Office – comprising four core divisions of real estate; financial trading and group treasury; private equity and venture capital; and philanthropy – currently operates out of the shophouse.

Social impact hub

JL Family Office also owns a nearby shophouse at 64 Club Street, which it bought in 2022 for slightly more than S$26 million. The property serves as a social impact hub under the family office’s philanthropic division, and provides a vibrant space for dialogues and co-creating solutions on education, youth and mental wellness challenges.

The corner unit used to be the home of Pondok Peranakan Gelam Club, which served as a communal home for Baweanese immigrants until the 1960s. It was declared a historic site by the National Heritage Board in 2000.

Both 64 and 65 Club Street are located within the Telok Ayer Conservation Area and zoned for commercial use under the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s Draft Master Plan 2025.