Hongkong Land, the property arm of the billionaire Keswick family’s Jardine Matheson, is acquiring Singapore’s Wheelock Place from Wharf Real Estate Investment Company for S$1.1 billion ($900 million).
The company said on Thursday it has agreed to purchase the mixed-use development from Wharf, the Hong Kong-based firm controlled by billionaire Peter Woo, through its Singapore Central Private Real Estate Fund (SCPREF). Located on Singapore’s Orchard Road, a premier shopping boulevard, the 21-storey building has a total gross floor area of about 43,000 square meters comprising office space and a retail podium.
The deal marks SCPREF’s first acquisition since Hongkong Land launched the commercial real estate private fund in February as part of the company’s plan to recycle capital and boost shareholder returns. The fund, in which Hongkong Land owns a majority stake alongside investors including Qatar Investment Authority, is the largest of its kind in Singapore with initial assets under management of S$8.2 billion. Its portfolio includes the Marina Bay Financial Centre and One Raffles Quay.
The deal, slated for completion in August, will boost SCPREF’s AUM to S$9.4 billion, according to Hongkong Land. The fund targets at least S$15 billion in AUM within five years.
“SCPREF was created to acquire assets of a calibre that rarely come to market, and Wheelock Place is precisely that,” said Michael Smith, chief executive of Hongkong Land, in a statement. “This acquisition also marks Hongkong Land’s successful entry, via SCPREF, into the strategic Orchard Road precinct, further enhancing our Singapore commercial footprint.”
Under the leadership of Smith, who took the helm in 2024, Hongkong Land has set a target to recycle up to $10 billion of capital by 2035. In addition to launching SCPREF, the company in September last year also offloaded its Singapore residential developer MCL Land to Sunway Group for $579 million.
As of June, Hongkong Land said it had recycled $3.7 billion of capital. The company is pouring the proceeds into strengthening its existing portfolio, including upgrading its prime retail mall in Hong Kong’s Central business district, while buying back its Singapore- and U.K.-listed shares.