Identity of buyer behind record $41.6m Tampines coffee shop sale revealed

Coffee shops are where most of us grab an affordable meal, but did you know that they're a piece of hot real estate that can sell for tens of millions of dollars? 

Recently, a coffee shop at Blk 201 Tampines Street 21 called Gong Xi 21 Food Court was sold for a whopping $41,682,168. The caveat was lodged in April and the sale is expected to be completed in July, reported 8world. 

This beats the previous record price of $31 million for a coffee shop at Blk 155 Bukit Batok Street 11 in 2015.

But who is the mystery buyer? 

In a separate article by 8world, it was revealed that the property is being purchased by G&G (21) Pte Ltd. The company director, Kiong Tai Weng, also happens to be the owner of 7 Stars, a coffeeshop chain.

On top of that, he also owns U Stars supermarkets and the popular Hong Kong Street Zhen Zi food court. 

Covering an area of 604 sqm, this property in question is one of the biggest coffee shops along Tampines Street 21 and has a grand total of 18 stalls. It has 76 years left on its lease. 

Its current price tag is about 12 times more than its original price of $3,451,200 in February 1997.

But even for the size, it's still a hefty amount to fork out for a coffee shop. 

According to Nicholas Mak, ERA Singapore's head of research and consulting, the $41.6 million price — or $6,964 psf — is comparable to the price of retail spaces along shopping district Orchard Road. 

As a comparison, he shared that stores in Far East Plaza and Lucky Plaza were around $4,000 to $8,000 psf in the first half of this year. 

Rent has doubled for stall owners

However, not everyone is too pleased with the record-breaking sale. 

A number of stall owners have lamented that due to an almost double in rent, they may not want to remain in the coffee shop. 

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One stall holder, who declined to be named, told 8world that in the past 23 years she had been a tenant at the coffee shop, she had never experienced any drastic rent hikes.

But since the coffee shop was bought over, her rent has increased from about $6,000 per month to about $9,000. The new landlord had tried to increase her rent to $10,000, but she managed to bring the amount down after some haggling, she said. 

While she does not want to give up the stall yet as she does not want to leave her employees jobless, she shares that if she still finds herself struggling after six months, she will consider shuttering the business. 

Another tenant, who wanted to be known only as Jacquelyn, told The Straits Times that rent for her stall, Kumamoto Ramen, has doubled from $5,000 to about $10,000. 

Her stall is now making a loss and she has had to let two workers go, she said, adding that she is "thinking of pulling out". 

melissateo@asiaone.com