One.Six Concepts looks to lay luxury cornerstone
The only daughter of CP Group’s chairman is looking to build her own real estate legacy in Thailand. By Jesus Alcocer and Srisamorn Phoosuphanusorn
Tanyatip Chearavanont is betting her eight-monthold real estate firm, One. Six Concepts, can take on the country’s large players in the ultra-luxury sector as it launches a 5.5-billion-baht mixed-use project at the entrance of Soi Thong Lor in 2021.
The Strand Thonglor is a joint venture between One.Six Concepts and Magnolia Quality Development Corporation (MQDC), which control 51% and 49% of the project, respectively. The 30-floor, 200-unit property will consist of a single tower with commercial and residential space.
The Strand’s sales gallery will be opened to the public in mid-2018, and construction will begin towards the end of the year. The building will be located on a 2,548-square-metre plot on 1.2 rai at the entrance of Soi Thong Lor.
Ms Tanyatip, the 27-year-old chief executive of the firm, is the only daughter of Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group chairman Supakit Chearavanont. The University of Pennsylvania graduate worked at MQDC and commercial real estate developer Hong Kong Land before co-founding the firm.
Ms Tanyatip partnered with Chawin Athakravisunthorn, the great-grandson of former prime minister Pote Sarasin. Mr Chawin, a graduate of the London School of Economics and a four-year JPMorgan veteran, serves as the managing director of the company.
One.Six Concepts has been in the works for the past two years, Ms Tanyatip said. The company does not consider CP Land a competitor, she said, since the property arm of CP Group focuses primarily on industrial and commercial development.
The partners declined to disclose the price range of the units, but said the condominium would be in the same segment as the 19-billion-baht MahaNakhon mixed-use building, where units start at approximately 40 million baht.
Sales forecasts are not yet available, but selling more than 50% of the units in the first year (the average for similar developments in Thong Lor) would constitute success for the company, he said.
The project will be financed through a combination of family loans and bank loans, which were taken on behalf of One. Six Concepts Corporation, not on behalf of either of the cofounder’s family businesses.
“The intention was to keep it as separate as possible from the family’s business. In the long term our plan is to become fully independent” she said.
The project will integrate a “simpler” vision of luxury, eliminating redundant amenities while providing amenities like electric vehicle chargers, smart home platforms and hotellike services.
“In the past few years traditional condominiums have partnered with hotels to provide hotel management, room service and housekeeping,” Ms Tanyatip said. “We will seek to provide the same things ourselves.”
Further details of the development will be released in June, she said.
Ms Tanyatip said One.Six’s first project had to be ultraluxury, as the company seeks to build up its reputation in a crowded marketplace. But the company is open to mid and mass market investments, depending on location. Mr Chawin said the company plans to begin a new project in 2019, but declined to disclose that project’s location.
Ms Tanyatip said developers will continue looking at prime CBD areas like Sathon, Thong Lor, Phrom Phong and Silom.
“I think there is an oversupply of condominiums, but the ultra-luxury market is still growing,” she said.
The market for high-end condominiums may be fuelled by foreign investors seeking value for money. Bangkok is still cheap compared to other Asian Gateway cities.
“Singapore is 3.5 times more expensive than Thailand, which is only 35% more expensive than Cambodia,” Mr Chawin said. “Absorption rates in the past three years averaged 90% and now stand at about 75%.”
I think there is an oversupply of condominiums, but the ultra-luxury market is still growing. TANYATIP CHEARAVANONT Chief Executive, One.Six Concepts