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Rents at The Center, Hong Kong’s most expensive office tower, cut by 5 per cent as companies defer expansion plans amid protests
- A lease for a mid-level floor at The Center was completed at HK$95 per sq ft in August
- Office market at a standstill, with only three transactions completed as of August 23
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Some owners of individual floors at The Center have cut rents by 5 per cent for the first time since they took over Hong Kong’s most expensive grade A office building, as anti-government protests have forced companies to hold back their expansion plans, according to agents.
Rents at a number of buildings have also been reduced, including Bank of China Tower, where asking lease rates have been cut by 4.3 per cent to HK$156 in July compared to June, according to figures from CBRE.
Rents at the 73-storey iconic tower for mid-level floors without sea views dropped to below HK$100 per sq ft in July after negotiations between tenants and landlords, said Freddy Ho, senior sales manager at Centaline Commercial, who is familiar with a recent lease deal of 2,500 sq ft at about HK$95 per sq ft.
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CK Asset Holdings sold a 75 per cent stake of The Center for a record HK$40.2 billion (US$5.15 billion) in November 2017. The deal was completed in May 2018.
The buyer of Hong Kong’s fifth-tallest building is CHMT Peaceful Development Asia Property. Under the deal, the consortium comprising 10 investors bought 1.22 million sq ft of office space in the building at HK$32,900 per square foot.
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