Jardine Matheson Sells Causeway Bay Shop at 11% Below Valuation

How Jardine Matheson’s street-shop sale reflects Hong Kong retail property’s struggles

Jardine Matheson has sold a street shop in Causeway Bay for HK$80 million (US$10.2 million), ending its ownership of the property after more than 50 years.

The asset was acquired by Uni Investment Development, according to Land Registry records.

The sale came amid Hong Kong’s commercial property downturn, with Jardine Matheson accepting a price below its earlier valuation.

Sale below earlier valuation

The property is a ground-floor shop in H&S Building at 36 Leighton Road.

It has a gross floor area of about 11,727 square feet.

Jardine Matheson appointed an agent to market the property in early April, when it was valued at HK$90 million.

The eventual sale price was HK$10 million below that valuation.

At HK$80 million, the property changed hands for the equivalent of HK$6,822 per square foot.

That was about 11 per cent lower than the earlier valuation.

The difference between the valuation and the final price highlights the pressure facing Hong Kong retail property during the downturn.

It also shows how a long-held Causeway Bay asset was sold at a discount rather than at the price set when it was first marketed.

For Jardine Matheson, the sale involved a property held for more than five decades.

For the market, the transaction offers a specific example of weaker pricing for a street-level retail asset in Hong Kong.

Source: South China Morning Post