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Richard Woo

Swire Properties is arranging a tender sale of its investment property The Albany in Mid-Levels to generate proceeds for other projects.

Analysts estimated the luxury residential property could sell for more than HK$2 billion.

A Swire spokesman said the company had appointed Jones Lang LaSalle to arrange a private tender.

Sources said the tender would be closed within one month and certain active foreign investment funds had looked at the information of the property.

The Albany is an 11-year-old building with 74 units ranging from 1,600 square feet to 2,900 sq ft, eight duplexes of 3,000-plus sq ft and two penthouses. The 33-storey tower provides a total floor area of 208,755 sq ft.

With an estimated value of more than HK$2 billion, or HK$11,000 per square foot, the project provided an investment yield of about 4 per cent, property agents said.

Cusson Leung Kai-tong, analyst at ING Baring Securities, said the parent of Swire Properties, Swire Pacific, would maintain an estimated gearing ratio of 22 per cent next year and had sufficient funds for development.

However, Mr Leung said that in selling old investment assets and investing in new projects with higher returns, the Albany sale was a good move.

He said in the past two years Swire Pacific had appeared to adopt a strategy of re-focusing on its traditionally well-positioned businesses, including office investment and property development, by selling businesses such as its trading units.

The Albany sale should be part of this re-focusing process, Mr Leung said.

One analyst at a United States securities firm said Swire's insufficient residential development land bank might be a reason for it to raise its property development investments by disposing of some non-core assets.



Analyst applauds Swire selling luxury Mid-Levels site to lift project funds