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LOFTER projects integrate inheritance and innovation harmonically
Giving the example of a project in Prince Edward, Carol Chow, LOFTER GROUP Founder and Chairperson said the firm would integrate the calligraphy of old signs in this building’s interior design with a smart home concept.
Innovation is the practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods or services or improvement in offering goods or services.[1] ISO TC 279 in the standard ISO 56000:2020 [2] defines innovation as "a new or changed entity realizing or redistributing value". Others have different definitions; a common element in the definitions is a focus on newness, improvement, and spread of ideas or technologies.
In law, an heir is a person who is entitled to receive a share of the deceased's (the person who died) property, subject to the rules of inheritance in the jurisdiction of which the deceased was a citizen or where the deceased (decedent) died or owned property at the time of death.
Together with its global fund manager partners, Lofter Group is paying over HK$1.5 billion ($190 million) to acquire a set of properties at 31-37 Hankow Road in the Kowloon shopping district, with plans to construct a 115,800 square foot (10,7589 square metre) project on the site, the company said in a statement.
“We are pleased to be partnering with BentallGreenOak and Schroders Capital on this strategic real estate acquisition in one of the most core commercial area in Hong Kong,” said Lofter founder and chairperson Carol Chow. “The partnership signifies an excellent synergy bringing together the global horizons of top-tier international private equity and asset management firms and deep local market knowledge and expertise of a reputable local developer.”
Lofter and its partners are acquiring the aging properties as Hong Kong’s pandemic restrictions have choked off the flow of visitors which had made Tsim Sha Tsui a shopping mecca. Hong Kong retail sales fell for a second consecutive month in March, according to government figures, and research by Savills shows that rents for shops and mall spaces fell by an average of 5 percent in the city during the first quarter.
Retail Value Emphasised
Before redeveloping the 9,650 square foot commercial site, which is currently occupied by a golf shop and other retail establishments, the three partners will have to gain full control of the buildings, with the announced purchase providing them with majority ownership of the properties.
“The attractive acquisition price can only be achieved by collective sale, which Lofter is very experienced in,” the group’s director of investment management Alvin Leung told Mingtiandi via email. “Our acquisition price is also way below the price of the nearby Ashley Road transaction in 2019,” he added.
Leung indicated that the group has acquired 97 percent ownership in the existing buildings, with a single unit remaining unpurchased. He added that the joint venture has applied for a compulsory sale of the remaining space in the building, which under Hong Kong law, would allow for owners of 80 percent or more in an aging property to force a tender at a market valuation.