Latest Updates on Property News

Nov 7, 2007
Horizon Towers owners renew objections to sale at hearing
By Joyce Teo, Property Correspondent

THE home owners opposed to the $500 million collective sale of
Horizon Towers have renewed their complaints that the sale was not
handled properly, resulting in a price that was too low given a fast-
rising market.

They were opening their case to stop the sale in front of the Strata
Titles Board (STB) yesterday with a barrage of arguments.

They claimed that the sale committee and the property agent had
mismanaged the sale process of the condominium.

It was the second day of the resumed STB hearing in which the
majority owners are seeking approval to have the sale approved,
after it was thrown out on a technicality in August.

They are battling it out with the minority owners who have filed
objections to the sale. These objectors include three groups, each
represented by different lawyers, along with two sets of owners
representing themselves.

Hotel Properties (HPL) and its two partners have been trying to buy
the 99-year leasehold Horizon Towers for $500 million, the estate’s
reserve price that was set in April or May last year.

Opponents of the sale argued that by the time the deal was signed,
that reserve price was too low, and out of date.

They said the $500 million price came with an 80 per cent premium -
an inducement that had shrunk significantly by the time the estate
was sold to the HPL consortium in January this year, due to a fast-
rising market.

One witness, Mr Wee Hian Siew, who was the secretary of Horizon
Towers’ first sale committee and one of the first to moot the idea
of a sale, was called at the STB hearing yesterday.

He was asked numerous questions, including whether he knew about the
rising market and why he did not ask for a fresh mandate for the
$500 million offer from the owners, many of whom were said to have
learnt of the sale via a newspaper report.

Mr Wee said he knew about the rising market and insisted that he was
under the impression that the collective sale premium had slipped to
about 40 per cent to 50 per cent, which he was happy with.

Earlier, one of the three minority owners’ lawyers, Mr Philip Fong
of Harry Elias partnership, had asked if Mr Wee knew that Horizon
Towers’ agent First Tree Properties was a tiny company with a paid-
up capital of $50,000 for instance.

Also, he asked if he knew that the company had agreed to take a
commission from the purchaser, instead of the owners as with usual
practice. Mr Wee said he knew about it.

He later agreed that this would create a potential conflict but it
was one that was not apparent to him when they were making the deal.

These were just some of the arguments brought up yesterday when the
STB board also dismissed the case of a majority owner who wanted to
participate in the hearing as an objector.

The hearing continues today.