Frasers Property—controlled by Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi—has bought a cluster of prime food and beverage shophouses in the Orchard Road shopping belt for S$175 million ($138 million) from privately held Royal Holdings.
The acquisition of Cuppage Terrace comes six months after the Singapore-listed developer bought the plot behind The Centrepoint shopping complex for S$392 million. With Frasers Property owning the mall and the adjacent properties, the group could take a more coordinated approach to enhance the asset and create long-term value.
“The acquisition of Cuppage Terrace strengthens our presence along Orchard Road and reinforces our commitment to shaping a more connected and vibrant precinct,” Soon Su Lin, CEO of Frasers Property Singapore, said in a statement. “Together with the strengthening of ownership of The Centrepoint, this enables us to unlock synergies across adjacent sites and better position our properties to contribute to the ongoing transformation of Orchard Road.”
Cuppage Terrace, as the property is called, comprises 17 conserved Peranakan-style shophouses that’s been turned into bars and restaurants. It’s one of several properties owned by Royal Holdings which is run by father-son duo Raj Kumar and Kishin. With a combined net worth of $3.2 billion, they are among the wealthiest in Singapore. Their prized holdings include the 442-room Holiday Inn Express at Clarke Quay, Holiday Inn Little India and the hotel Intercontinental Singapore Robertson Quay.
The Centrepoint is Frasers Property’s flagship asset along Orchard Road that was originally built in the early 1980s. The company also owns 51 Cuppage Road, a 10-story office building, behind the shopping complex.
Frasers Property is one of the assets owned by Charoen and his family, among the wealthiest in Thailand with an estimated fortune of $12.2 billion based on Forbes’ real-time data. The clan also has interests in Chang Beer maker Thai Beverages, packaging company Berli Jucker, Thai property developer Asset World and Thailand’s Big C Supercenter hypermarket chain.