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Grosvenor launches US$200m Asian property buying spree

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Grosvenor Estate Holdings, chaired by one of Britain's wealthiest landlords, the Duke of Westminster, has made its most significant foray into Asia's property market by taking a 15 per cent stake in medium-sized developer Asia Standard International.

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The deal marked the first big investment by the UK company in Hong Kong's real-estate sector since 1996 and the start of its planned US$200 million buying spree in the Asian region.

Ayala International, a subsidiary of Ayala Corp of the Philippines, was taking a 1.6 per cent stake in Asia Standard. Grosvenor and Ayala together would invest about HK$408.11 million in return for 408.11 million new shares in Asia Standard.

At $1 a share, the deal represented a 60 per cent discount to the company's net asset value and a 12.3 per cent discount to last Friday's closing price of $1.14.

The investments reflected a revival of overseas interest in the Hong Kong property market and confidence in its prospects.

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'Grosvenor has been active in Asia since 1994 but this subscription is our most significant investment in the region to date,' Grosvenor Estate's Asia headquarters managing director Nicholas Loup said.

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