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A small but chic bachelor pad in Sheung Wan has provided three business partners with a perfect launching pad into the Hong Kong real estate market.

For the owners of a compact penthouse apartment in Sheung Wan, the fact they would never live in their recently purchased flat didn't dampen their enthusiasm for its renovation. This was a project to be enjoyed vicariously. They even had a firm idea of their ideal tenant.

'We wanted a high-end product for a certain audience - a bachelor pad, mainly for expats who would like something a little unusual,' says co-owner Raoul Preller. 'Our target was someone who could arrive with a suitcase and move straight in.'

Preller, from South Africa, and his business partners, Henning Voss and Christoph Bannerman, are young professionals with experience in property development, but they didn't find it easy to locate the right blank canvas for their first Hong Kong venture. 'Good space is very hard to find in Hong Kong,' says Voss, who is from Germany. 'This place had a very nice floor plan, a rectangular shape with big windows, and it offered enough space to create a decent one-bedroom apartment. We also took it because of the roof and the open view.'

'We see Sheung Wan as the next pocket of growth,' interjects Preller. 'You've got design stores coming in, arty stores, bookstores, galleries, arts and crafts, restaurants.'

The trio commissioned friend and interior designer Jennifer Newton of Newton Concepts (1/F, Fortuna Building, 63 Wellington Street, Central, tel: 6718 5181), who drew her inspiration from extensive tours around some of Southeast Asia's more unusual luxury resorts. She was given a style and a colour scheme - charcoals and dark woods - and was left to fill in the blanks.

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