Hong Kong Site Formerly Owned by Agile Group Holdings Up for Tender in Quarry Bay
The receiver of a nearly 450,000 sq ft residential site in Hong Kong Island’s Eastern district, once owned by distressed Chinese developer Agile Group Holdings, has put the property up for sale by tender on Monday. Agile paid a total of about HK$3.3 billion (US$423 million) for the two sites that make up the tender, at 992-998 King’s Road and 2-16 Mount Parker Road in Quarry Bay, in 2017 and 2022, according to Savills, the sole agent for the sale.
The site area is around 50,000 sq ft and supports a maximum gross floor area of around 448,000 sq ft. The deadline for expression of interest is noon on October 2. Upon completion, the project is expected to provide over 500 residential units and more than 190 car parking spaces, said Tommy Chan, senior director of investment of Savills. With scarce new residential supply in urban areas of Hong Kong Island, coupled with the site’s proximity to the Quarry Bay MTR station and the Taikoo Place office complex, the development is expected to appeal to both owner-occupiers and investors.
Agile held 100 percent interest in the project as of December 31, according to its 2023 annual report. The report noted, “The group has two high-quality property projects,” listing the King’s Road and Mount Parker Road sites, plus a project on Eastbourne Road in Kowloon Tong. Last year, Agile paid HK$966 million for Dragon Court, a 44-unit building at 6 Eastbourne Road, in a compulsory en-bloc sale.
The Quarry Bay tender comes a week after Chen Zhuolin, chairman of Agile, sold a flat in a neighboring project to Dragon Court, Hamburg Villa at 8-10 Eastbourne Road, for less than half the price paid six years ago. The 1,239 sq ft, three-bedroom flat fetched HK$14.3 million, compared with HK$31 million in 2018.
Agile has acquired one-third of the 33 units in Hamburg Villa and had expressed a desire to acquire the entire building. However, the developer's recent sale at a steep loss raises concerns about whether Agile may suspend acquisition of remaining units after facing liquidity pressure.
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