Link Asset Management Limited, as the manager of Link Real Estate Investment Trust announced in February this year, that Link has won the bid to acquire a premium commercial tower with retail podium at 700 Nathan Road, Kowloon, for HK$5.91 billion, which is approximately 8% lower than the property’s appraised value (HK$6.4 billion).
     With a total gross floor area of about 284,800 square feet (26,411 sq m), the property is located at 700 Nathan Road, Kowloon. Dedicated for retail, F&B and service uses, the property comprises an eight-storey retail (two basement floors connecting to Mong Kok MTR Station and a podium of six retail floors) and a 15-storey commercial tower.
     The property’s asset enhancement project, together with the related research and planning, is initially estimated to take 18 months.
     Link Real Estate Investment Trust (Link REIT) is the first real estate investment trust listed in Hong Kong, and currently Asia’s largest REIT and one of the world’s largest retail focused REITs in terms of market capitalisation. Wholly owned by private and institutional investors, with 100% free float, Link REIT has been listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange since 25 November 2005.
     Spanning Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai, the portfolio owned by Link REIT consists of properties with about 10 million sq ft of retail space, around 72,000 car park spaces, and a project under development in Hong Kong, as well as properties with about 1.8 million sq ft of retail and office space in Mainland China (as at June 2016).
     The portfolio owned by Link REIT includes retail properties in Hong Kong with a floor area of approximately 10 million square feet (as at June 2016), making it the largest of its kind in Hong Kong.