MANDARIN ORIENTAL GETS EXCELSIOR BIDS

At least 5 offers received for HK hotel valued at HK$30b

HONG KONG

The proposals will form the basis “for further consideration of the company’s strategic options”, according to a statement from the company.

It said in June it was testing the market for a potential sale of the property on the waterfront overlooking Victoria Harbour in the Causeway Bay district in light of “current strong commercial property valuations”.

The government had approved redevelopment of the site for a commercial building with a gross floor area of 684,000 square feet, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.

“Robust investment demand for Hong Kong office space, driven by record-breaking land sales, could prompt landlords to sell their commercial properties” in the second half, Bloomberg Intelligence industry analyst Patrick Wong wrote in May.

Earlier this year, two Chinese companies bid a record HK$16.9 billion for a piece of waterfront land zoned for residential development.

Mandarin Oriental, controlled by trading company Jardine Matheson Holdings, operates 30 hotels and eight residences in 20 countries and territories. The group’s hotels are all five-star luxury properties, with the exception of The Excelsior, which is rated four star.

The Excelsior, which opened in 1973, sits on the first land parcel sold after Hong Kong became a British colony in 1841. Bloomberg