Link Reit agrees to buy Wong Tai Sin shopping mall for HK$1.38b

The Link Real Estate Investment Trust (The Link Reit) has agreed to acquire a commercial property in Wong Tai Sin from a wholly owned subsidiary of Kerry Properties for HK$1.38 billion.

The Link Management, the manager of the reit, said the purchase of the 126,319 square foot Lions Rise Mall near Wong Tai Sin Station marked its third acquisition since the listing of the Reit in 2005. Completed in 2012, the commercial development is part of Lions Rise, a housing estate consisting of five residential blocks on top of the podium, developed by Kerry.

At the end of last month, the property was about 84 per cent let, with 36 tenancies and various licences delivering a monthly rental income of about HK$2.8 million (excluding management fees but including car park income).

The Link Reit paid a deposit of HK$138 million on entering into the sale and purchase agreement on August 18, and will pay the balance of HK$1.242 billion on completion of the deal on September 18.

The Link Management chief executive George Hongchoy said: “The acquisition complements our portfolio in the Wong Tai Sin district, where we have been serving customers for many years through our flagship properties, Wong Tai Sin Plaza and Lung Cheung Plaza.”

Kerry Properties is part of the Kerry Group, which also controls the SCMP Group, publisher of the South China Morning Post.