Frasers Property defends turf with $391.9 million acquisition of The Centrepoint rear block

SINGAPORE – In a move that comes as little surprise to the market, Frasers Property has snapped up the rear block of The Centrepoint, which was

put up for a collective sale

, for $391.9 million.

The price tag is about 6.2 per cent lower than the $418 million guide price cited for the prime Orchard Road property, which comprises the residential component of The Centrepoint development and roughly one-third of its retail units.

Frasers Property, controlled by Thai business magnate Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, was earlier seen as the most natural buyer and top contender for a deal.

The acquisition will allow Frasers Property to consolidate adjoining sites for a major redevelopment.

The group could also be looking to amalgamate The Centrepoint site with 51 Cuppage Road, a neighbouring 10-storey office building that it owns. The 99-year leasehold property, completed in 1998, is directly connected to The Centrepoint via a link bridge.

Frasers Property owns almost all – about 96 per cent – of The Centrepoint’s front block, which houses 151 retail units on a freehold plot.

Before the collective sale, the group owned part of the rear block, which contains 66 apartments and 66 retail units on an L-shaped plot with around 52 years left on its 99-year lease. It reportedly held all the retail strata units and eight apartments, amounting to about 52 per cent of the strata area and roughly 85 per cent of the share value in the rear block.

The selling price of $391.9 million values the rear block site at a land rate of $2,577 per square foot per plot ratio, after including a land betterment charge of $260 million to top up the plot’s lease to a fresh 99 years and build up the site to its maximum gross plot ratio of 5.6.

Currently, the 44,700 sq ft plot has a development baseline of 171,482 sq ft, equivalent to a plot ratio of 3.83.

Ms Soon Su Lin, chief executive of Frasers Property Singapore, said: “We are pleased to strengthen our ownership of The Centrepoint. This gives us greater flexibility to unlock the site’s long-term potential, including assessing broader rejuvenation plans for the area.”

The Centrepoint was developed by Frasers Property when it was the property division of Cold Storage. It has an occupancy rate of about 98 per cent as at Sept 30, 2025.

The mall opened in 1983 and became home to Robinsons, an iconic anchor tenant, until the department store moved out in 2014 after 31 years.

Another department store, Metro, moved in but closed in 2019, by which time other long-time tenants, including Times Bookstores and Marks & Spencer, had also moved out. Anchor tenants today include French sports retailer Decathlon, co-working operator JustCo, electronics store Harvey Norman and a Fairprice Finest supermarket.

The site is zoned commercial, with a height control of up to 10 storeys.

Under the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s Strategic Development Incentive Scheme, the developer may take advantage of incentives offered in terms of bonus gross floor area, more intensive land use and/or building height.

The scheme aims to nudge the renewal and redevelopment of ageing buildings in core areas and offers incentives to asset owners who combine at least two adjacent sites in a way that can have a strong transformational impact on the area.

At The Centrepoint, the 66 residential units include one- to three-bedroom units, sized between 732 sq ft and 3,003 sq ft.

Nearby, an expression of interest exercise for Cuppage Terrace closed on Feb 12. Marketing agent CBRE declined to comment when asked about the results. The strip of 17 conservation shophouses on a 28,986 sq ft site was valued at $250 million.

As at mid-February, the exercise had reportedly drawn more than 50 inquiries from local and foreign developers, end-users, boutique real estate funds, ultra-high-net-worth family offices and corporates.

THE BUSINESS TIMES