OXLEY LAUNCHES ROYAL WHARF TO RESOUNDING RECEPTION - 21 Mar 2014

Singapore, 21 March 2014 – Homegrown lifestyle property developer, Oxley Holdings Limited (“Oxley” or “the Company”), has launched Phase 1 of its premier London waterfront development, Royal Wharf, in London and Singapore to resounding market response, collectively selling more than 50% of 811 units on the first day of its launch in each location.

The launch, which took place in London on Thursday, 20 March 2013, saw a queue forming outside the London sales gallery as early as five hours before the opening – which was an unusual occurrence in the city. In Singapore, close to 200 cheques were collected prior to the launch at 2pm on Friday, 21 March 2013.

The units launched comprised 68 townhouses, 132 3-bedroom units, 268 2-bedroom units, 296 1-bedroom units and 47 studio units. Most popular were the townhouses which saw more than 50% of available units sold, and almost all studio units have been taken up following keen interest from buyers.

Apart from UK-residents and Singaporeans, the launch also attracted buyers from the region including Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Myanmar and China. Prices for the units ranged from £235,000 (S$495,000) for a studio apartment to just over £1 million for the most expensive townhouse.

Mr Ching Chiat Kwong, Chairman & CEO of Oxley, said, “Royal Wharf is our first development launched outside of Singapore, and also our most exciting project to date because it offers buyers not just a house, but a refreshingly new waterfront lifestyle concept. We are extremely encouraged by the response to the launch in both locations.”

Located a mere twenty minutes from Central London by train, Royal Wharf, which is the centerpiece of the regeneration of Royal Docks in East London, will be transformed by the development of the £1 billion Asian Business Park, along with investments by ExCeL London, The University of East London and other prominent entities such as the London City Airport.

The 999-year leasehold land parcel, which extends nearly 150,000 square metres and stretches 500 metres along the River Thames will accommodate approximately 3,400 homes, a new school, a retail high street along with space for restaurants, cafés, offices and bars, as well as a new waterfront park when completed.

Royal Wharf will also be well-connected to the City of London via the existing Docklands Light Railway (“DLR”) and future Crossrail station, which also enables easy international access via the London City Airport.

The Royal Wharf represents Oxley’s endeavor at taking its signature lifestyle concepts to the wider international market. Although the Company only completed the purchase of Royal Wharf at the end of last year, development works have already commenced on site, with the first phase of Royal Wharf expected to see completion in the summer of 2016.


About Oxley Holdings Limited

Oxley Holdings is a property developer specialising in the development of quality mixed-residential, commercial and industrial projects at competitive prices. Oxley’s developments cater to the growing needs of young and trendy home buyers who value quality living and a finer lifestyle, as well as small and medium enterprise owners looking to purchase their own office premises. Oxley’s property developments are usually located at prime areas that are easily accessible and which feature prominent lifestyle elements. The Company’s distinctive portfolio of developments includes KAP Residences/KAP, Midtown Residences/The Midtown, Devonshire Residences, Loft@Holland, Viva Vista, Oxley BizHub and Oxley BizHub 2 as well as Oxley Tower and Robinson Square. Beyond Singapore shores, Oxley also has a total of 15 projects in the pipeline in the UK, Cambodia, Malaysia and China.

Source: http://infopub.sgx.com/FileOpen/MediaRelease.ashx?App=Announcement&FileID=287434

My View

There are many foreign buyers to acquire a piece of property in London. In fact, London property price has soared up since few years back and recovered quickly from the financial crisis. We have seen many developers from Malaysia and Singapore venture into London property market, for example SP Setia from Malaysia and Oxley from Singapore.

It is a brave move by Oxley as they are quite aggressive and adopt quickly to the market sentiment by adjusting their business strategy (partly due to the slow down of Singapore property market since this year onward). Some analysts forecast that Oxley would be generating some S$0.9B net profits in next couple of years time. It is one of the counters in my watch list and I would update my target intrinsic value later.