McDonald’s has sold another Hong Kong retail property for HK$118.7 million (US$15.2 million), bringing the proceeds from its ongoing asset disposal programme to about HK$490 million, as well-capitalised investors continue to snap up prime real estate.
The 10,000 sq ft-plus property at 46-47 Yee Wo Street in Causeway Bay was sold to Evergreen Capital Partners. Ng Yin was listed as director of the firm, according to the Companies Registry.
The deal, which was signed on December 10, included the first and second floors of the McDonald’s Building, as well as three podium units, with the average price working out to HK$11,558 per square foot, according to the Land Registry.
Ng has also bought two other McDonald’s properties in Kennedy Town and Mong Kok, spending about HK$300 million on the three deals.
McDonald’s has completed six sales since launching its plan in July to dispose of eight retail properties, as part of a review of its Hong Kong real estate portfolio. The Chicago-based fast-food chain then said the assets were valued at about HK$1.2 billion.
Hong Kong’s retail sector continues to face pressure, with residents increasingly travelling to mainland cities such as Shenzhen to shop, prompting some retailers to scale back their physical footprint.
McDonald’s declined the Post’s request for comment.
McDonald’s sold a property in Tai Kok Tsui for HK$72.4 million in late November, following earlier sales in Tsz Wan Shan, Yuen Long, Mong Kok and Kennedy Town. Those deals generated substantial gains over the original purchase prices from the 1980s and 1990s.
The steady take-up of McDonald’s assets comes amid signs of a broader recovery in Hong Kong’s commercial and industrial real estate market. A total of 402 transactions were recorded in December, up 10.1 per cent from November and the second straight month above 400 deals, according to data compiled by property agency Ricacorp Properties.
Retail shops led the rebound, with the transaction volume in December jumping nearly 32 per cent month on month to 120, as improving yields drew investors back to prime locations.
However, rents continued to slide. Tsim Sha Tsui and Causeway Bay recorded a decline of 1.6 per cent and 2.4 per cent, respectively in the fourth quarter from the previous quarter, according to property consultancy firm Cushman and Wakefield.
Overall high-street rents in the city’s four main districts remained 40 per cent below pre-pandemic levels in December, despite a mild 1.1 per cent year-on-year rise, the consultancy said. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
