TE Capital and LaSalle joint venture to purchase PIL Building Singapore
The PIL Building on Cecil Street was purchased by DRAGON Peak Limited, a JV entity comprised of two funds controlled by TE Capital Partners and LaSalle Investment Management, respectively, for an unknown sum.
It is the goal of the JV to transform the PIL Building into a Class A office space with Green Mark Platinum Certification, 4.9-meter floor-to-ceiling height, and efficient floor plates that can accommodate either single- or multi-tenant use.
Both TE Capital Partners and LaSalle Investment Management expressed their trust in the Singapore office market in a joint press release issued on Tuesday (February 15), calling the partnership a “synergistic tie-up.” It is the first time the two businesses have worked together.
In an interview, TE Capital Partners’ managing director Emilia Teo stated, “We have observed increased office demand in the Singapore CBD from the technology and financial services tenants and are anticipating a reasonable amount of new supply coming into the market in the next several years.”
LaSalle Investment Management’s co-chief investment officer Claire Tang called PIL Building a “welcome addition” to the company’s portfolio in light of rising interest from overseas institutional investors in Singapore’s office market and continuing demand from overseas technology and financial services firms despite the pandemic.
Both firms also noted that Singapore’s property market has a stellar reputation for stability and resilience, with a proven history of both growth and preservation of capital values over the medium to long term.
Despite the epidemic, it has maintained its popularity as a top choice for regional office investors.
The PIL Building at 140 Cecil Street is a 17-story office complex that occupies a plot of 1,815 square meters and will rebuild to a new development known as Solitaire on Cecil that comprises of Grade A Offices and retail space.
In July 2020, The Business Times reported that the building had been placed up for sale in a covert expression of interest (EOI) process. In all, eight companies expressed interest in the EOI.
With a current net lettable area of roughly 107,200 sq ft, the guiding price for PIL Building was put at S$350 million, or around S$3,265 per square foot. While it was erected about 40 years ago, the building has had a major renovation as recently as 2011.
