A coffee shop in Serangoon has been sold for S$40.5 million, making the it third known coffee shop to have changed hands at such a premium price, Shin Min Daily News reported.
Previously in 2022, a coffee shop in Tampines was sold for a record S$41.6 million, while another coffeeshop in Yishun was sold for S$40 million.
This time the coffee shop in question is located at Block 261 Serangoon Central Drive.
Likely the highest price of S$9,647 per square foot
According to documents from the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) seen by Shin Min, the coffee shop has an area of 390 sqm or around 4,198 sqft.
This means that the average price of the transaction per square foot is S$9,647, the highest known figure among the three coffeeshops sold for over S$40 million thus far.
In comparison, the Tampines coffeeshop spans 604 sqm, which means the new owner paid S$6,964 per sqft, while the Yishun coffeeshop spans 397 sqm with a per sqft price of S$9,361.
According to SLA, the Serangoon coffeeshop has 65 years left on its lease.
Bought by a company that is owned by coffeeshop chain Broadway
Shin Min reported that the coffeeshop's buyer filed a caveat earlier in September 2023.
According to PropertyGuru, a caveat is a legal document to protect buyers’ interests in a property for sale, and lodging one with the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) secures the property for the buyer.
The buyer is reportedly a company called AMK Food Court, with both of its directors also being the owners of coffeeshop chain Broadway, according to documents seen by Shin Min.
In addition, Broadway is one of the shareholders of AMK Food Court and both companies also share the same address.
Previously in 2018, Broadway bought out 23 shops from its rival coffeeshop chain S11 for about S$200 million, The Straits Times reported
Coffeeshop stall owners reportedly undecided on whether to stay or leave
Stall owners at the coffeeshop whom Shin Min spoke to appeared to be undecided about they would stay or leave following the change in ownership.
A staff who had been working at the coffeeshop's fish soup stall for five years said he had not received any news about the change.
The staff added: "The rent here is higher compared to elsewhere. It will definitely continue to rise once it changes hands, but for now, we can only take it one step at a time."
Another employee who did not want to be named said he had received word about the upcoming change in October 2023.
However, whether his stall will remain following the change is up to his boss, he said.
Resident hopes price increase will not be too much
Meanwhile, a resident who has lived in the area for 30 years told Shin Min she was astonished by the price.
She said: "There are many choices here and the food prices are reasonable."
"I only hope the increase will not be too outrageous," she said.
Top image via Google Streetview