Ascott Raffles  Place: Breaking Sale Records in Singapore Hospitality

Ascott Residence Trust appointed Cushman & Wakefield Singapore to broker the sale of Ascott Raffles Place, located in the heart of Singapore’s bustling CBD.

This was no easy feat since Ascott Raffles Place was Ascott’s global flagship serviced apartment. The meticulous delivery of the sale process was imperative and we anticipated a lengthy procedure that would demand utmost professionalism.

The Cushman & Wakefield Singapore Capital Markets team leveraged their extensive client network and local market knowledge to generate overwhelming response throughout the various stages of the Expression of Interest process.

For legal and administrative challenges, the Capital Markets team assembled a project team that handled a highly confidential and rigorous 3-stage Expression of Sale process.

The aim was to secure the highest possible price with the best possible terms for the Client.

During the sale process, Cushman & Wakefield helped the prospective buyers analyse different development options, such as the subdivision of existing layouts to smaller hotel rooms.

We also presented the potential to convert current space use to office use, with detailed simulations and financial analysis to entice potential investors to put forward their best efforts.

In January 2019, Cushman & Wakefield Singapore closed the sale of Ascott Raffles Place Singapore - the iconic flagship luxury serviced apartments with 146 rooms, to local private investor Cheong Sim Lam.

The property was sold for $353.3 million on behalf of the Client - Ascott Residence Trust, a subsidiary of CapitaLand.

This was the largest Singapore hospitality deal in five years.

It represented a 64.3% premium over the property's latest valuation in December 2017. At the sale price of $2.4 million per room, it also sets the record hotel price per room in Singapore.

Leading the sale from the Cushman & Wakefield team were Shaun Poh, Executive Director of the Capital Markets team in Singapore and Sim Chee Jin, Director of Capital Markets.