The penthouse owner who opposed the sale will receive $16 million for her 8,525 sq ft unit, up from the $15.2 million that she was supposed to get. (Photo: CBRE)
The en bloc sale of Cairnhill Mansions will finally proceed at $362 million, following a settlement with the penthouse owner who opposed the sale, reported the Business Times.
The settlement will see the owners of the other units at Cairnhill Mansions giving the penthouse owner $14,400 each – or an extra $867,004.79 for objector Djie Tjoe Nio.
This means Nio will receive $16 million for her 792 sq m (8,525 sq ft) unit, up from the $15.2 million that she was supposed to get.
More: Developers’ En Bloc Appetite Diminishing: RHB
In his statement, Justice Quentin Loh revealed that mediation between the objector and the collective sale committee (CSC) started on 2 October and carried on “into the wee hours of the night”.
He said he was satisfied that the payment was “just and equitable”.
The law states that the Court can raise the proceeds of the sale for an objector once it is satisfied that doing so would be just and equitable.
To be paid from the proceeds of the owners, the total amount cannot exceed 0.25 percent of the sales proceeds for each unit or $2,000 per unit, whichever is higher.
In Shunfu Ville’s case, a unit owner objected to the sale claiming that she acquired her unit at a premium and had spent a considerable amount renovating it. The development’s CSC eventually agreed to increase her sale proceeds, which was approved by the judge.
In the case of Cairnhill Mansions, the collective sale agreement approved during the extraordinary general meeting by the subsidiary proprietors provided that the sellers are to agree to a High Court order should it find it just and equitable to raise the proceeds for objecting owners.
The collective sale agreement also gave the sales committee the power to consent to any proposed order by the High Court in such cases.
Low Keng Huat acquired the property at 69 Cairnhill Road in February for $362 million. The civil engineering and property development firm also acquired the adjacent 67 Cairnhill Road four months later at $100 million.
The penthouse owner opposed the sale, saying that the valuation method worked unfairly against her – resulting in the stop order from the Strata Titles Board and the CSC to apply for High Court approval.
“Her case was not that she would suffer a financial loss,” said Justice Loh, adding that the law “is a means to address specific inequities that can arise in a collective sale”.
More: Understanding The En Bloc Process (August 2018)
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
