Four Seasons boosts SHKP rental income
Sun Hung Kai Properties says it has generated about HK$650 million rental income from its serviced apartment portfolio last year, boosted by contributions from the deluxe Four Seasons Place in Central.
Boosted by a HK$150 million income from its 50 per cent-held Four Seasons Place, revenue was 47.72 per cent higher than the HK$440 million in 2005.
Last year, Four Seasons Place - which charged tenants between HK$58 and HK$81 per square foot per month - made HK$300 million in rental income.
Besides Four Seasons Place, the developer also owns a portfolio of 600 luxury serviced apartments, including Dynasty Court at Old Peak Road and 127 Repulse Bay Road, with rents ranging from HK$30 to HK$57 per square foot.
Mavis Kang, general leasing manager at Signature Homes, the residential leasing arm of SHKP, said rents increased 20 to 30 per cent when leases were renewed last year.
'But rents for top-end serviced apartments will slow this year after a significant jump,' she said.
This year, she expects rents will increase 10 per cent from 2006.
She remains optimistic about the outlook of the luxury residential leasing market because of the continuing influx of overseas multinationals setting up offices or headquarters in Hong Kong. To capture the growing demand for high-end serviced apartments, she said the group would start marketing 300 luxury units at Union Square in Kowloon Station for lease later this year.
The Union Square development comprises 2.5 million square feet of grade A office space, including a 118-storey grade-A office building - the International Commerce Centre (ICC); one million sqft of residential and serviced apartments; one million sqft of hotel space and a 900,000 sqft shopping complex.
'There has been no new supply of luxury serviced apartments in Kowloon for the past six years,' Ms Kang said, adding that the ICC would be attractive to multinationals planning to expand their reach into Hong Kong.
Serviced apartments at Union Square are expected to be completed by the middle of next year, she said.
Meanwhile, Ms Kang said the company would review its portfolio of luxury serviced apartments to see if renovations were needed.
SHKP is undertaking a HK$200 million renovation for two blocks at Dynasty Court.
The newly renovated units at Dynasty Court fetched a monthly rent of HK$56 per square foot - about 25 per cent higher than the previous leases, setting a record in the area, she said.
Recently, a 2,691 sqft unit leased for HK$150,000 a month.
