26 February, 2016
Baker & McKenzie is advising Link Real Estate Investment Trust ("Link REIT”) on its agreed purchase of Trade and Industry Department Tower of No. 700 Nathan Road, Kowloon (formerly, “Argyle Centre Tower II”) for HK$5,910,000,000. The property, a retail-cum-office building with connection to Mongkok MTR station, was sold by The Financial Secretary Incorporated of the Government by way of Government open tender. Other than some leased shops on the ground floor, the remainder of the building, once occupied by Government departments, is vacant. Completion is anticipated to take place in April 2016 in accordance with the terms of the Tender Agreement.
The Baker & McKenzie team for the acquistion was led by Debbie Cheung, partner in the Firm's real estate practice in Hong Kong/China.
Baker & McKenzie has handled a number of deals for Link REIT, most recently its acquisition of Corporate Avenue 1 & 2 in Xintiandi, Shanghai for RMB6,600.86 million as well as its successful bid for Government land, situated in Kwun Tong, Kowloon, through a joint venture with Nan Fung for HK$5.86 billion.
Commenting on the deal, Debbie Cheung said, “We are delighted to have the opportunity, once again, to support Link REIT in another significant transaction. We look forward to seeing Link REIT's renovation of the property and continuing to work with Link REIT on the expansion of its portfolio in the future."
Spanning Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai, the portfolio owned by Link REIT consists of properties with an internal floor area of approximately 11 million square feet (“sq ft”) of retail space, a gross floor area of approximately 816,000 sq ft of office space, approximately 76,000 car park spaces and an office project under development.
