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The Sunbeam Theatre has been a centre for Cantonese Opera
A landmark theatre in Hong Kong’s North Point district has been sold for a reported HK$1 billion ($128 million) in the latest sign of occupiers buying Hong Kong properties for their own use, as end users look to lower their long-term costs during the current market slide in the Asian financial centre.
Renowned for its Cantonese opera performances, the Sunbeam Theatre on King’s Road at the intersection with Shu Kuk Street was sold to an unidentified buyer in a tender process that launched in August. The buyer is believed to be a church which is likely to use the property for its operations, according to market sources who spoke with Mingtiandi.
The transaction comes as falling valuations and weak sentiment in the city’s commercial property market present opportunities for end-use buyers to acquire assets at more attractive prices, with property consultancy Savills, which managed the tender, saying in a report published earlier this month that occupiers are set to play a growing role in investment transactions in the city.
“Looking ahead, the investment market is expected to continue being influenced by high interest rates and cautious lending policies by banks toward property loans,” said Peter Yuen, managing director of investment and sales at Savills in a report. “Demand for office and retail spaces is likely to come from both end users and local investors who have specific usage requirements or a special interest in their acquisition targets.”
Heart of North Point
The theatre purchase includes the ground through fifth floors, which are occupied by the theatre, as well as the rooftop of the Kiu Fai Mansion. The sixth floor is for residential use and an additional 16 storeys not included in the transaction are also used for housing.
Sold on an “as is” basis with existing tenancies, the acquired areas span a gross floor area of roughly 96,000 square feet (8,919 square metres) on a 29,800 square foot site.
Tycoon Francis Law Sau-fai sold the property he had held since 2003
The purchase represents approximately 77.4 percent of the building, bringing the new owner close to the 80 percent threshold which would allow them to apply for a compulsory sale that could force out the minority property holders. The Hong Kong government has also proposed lowering the threshold for forced auctions to 70 percent.
In marketing the property, Savills had noted the potential to redevelop the theatre into a 140,000 square foot retail podium.
In July 2022, local developer New World Development won approval from the Buildings Department to redevelop the historic State Theatre in North Point into a mixed-use project and in July 2023 received approval to build a third commercial building on the site.
However, Hong Kong’s high interest rates, growing construction costs, and subdued commercial rents are lowering the appeal of compulsory sales for redevelopment.
“We consider the redevelopment potential to be remote due to the current poor market situations,” said Alex Yeung, Chief Surveyor at CHFT Advisory and Appraisal, adding that owners of Sunbeam Theatre’s upstairs residential units might resist the compulsory sale.
End-User Deals Pile Up
Hong Kong’s declining commercial property market is seen by analysts as fueling an upswing in end-user acquisitions of properties, with occupiers moving to acquire their own business premises as values dip.
Earlier this month, Hong Kong’s financial regulator Securities and Futures Commission bought 12 floors in Swire Properties’ One Island East office tower in Quarry Bay for HK$5.4 billion ($693 million) in Hong Kong’s largest office investment by an end-user since 2019. The SFC occupied nine storeys in the building at the time of the transaction.
In September, China Merchants Energy Shipping purchased the 28th floor in Shun Tak Centre’s China Merchants Tower in Sheung Wan for HK$778 million ($99 million) from “Minibus King” Ma Ah-mu.
That same month, Hong Kong’s Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund Board purchased the 21st floor of the C-Bons International Centre in Kwun Tong, along with three parking spaces, for HK$232.5 million ($30 million) from US private equity firm Angelo Gordon and the family behind trading and transport firm Chellaram Shipping, who had acquired nine floors in the building in 2018.
In March, local supermarket and F&B retailer Uni-China bought the 29,732 square foot (2,762 square metre) retail podium at the One Kai Tak residential complex in Kowloon for HK$650 million ($83 million).
Cultural Landmark
Opened by Shanghainese immigrants in 1972, the Sunbeam Theatre won the title of “Hong Kong’s Grand Palace for Cantonese Opera” in 1993.
In 2003, local property investor Francis Law Sau-fai purchased the Kiu Fai Mansion for HK$162 million (then $20.8 million) with plans to redevelop the asset into a commercial project following the expiry of the theatre operator’s lease.
At that time, the Hong Kong government planned to subsidise the theatre’s rent by providing HK$100,000 each month through the Arts Development Council in order to promote Cantonese opera.
In 2012, former Hong Kong chief executive Leung Chun-ying reportedly brokered a deal between Law and local opera playwright Li Kui-ming which saw Law accepting a monthly rent of HK$1 million and allowing the theatre to continue operating. Li also personally invested over HK$10 million to renovate the building.
The theatre’s lease expires in February 2025, according to local media.
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