Judge questions whether Thomson View’s S$810 million en bloc deal secured 80% mandate within time stipulated
Source: Business Times
Article Date: 23 May 2025
Author: Jessie Lim
Lawyer representing collective sale committee asked to file affidavit on how the collective sale agreement and supplementary agreement differ.
A High Court judge has questioned whether Thomson View Condominium received the 80 per cent mandate required for its collective sale to go through within the one-year period stipulated under the law.
On Thursday (May 22), Justice Audrey Lim said that based on the evidence before the court, some of the 206 signatures appeared to have been obtained outside the 12-month period given for the collective sale committee to get 80 per cent of unitholders’ signatures.
In response, Hui Choon Wai, a partner at law firm Wee Swee Teow, which is representing the collective sale committee, clarified that the 206 signatures were from owners who had signed both the collective sale agreement and a supplementary agreement.
According to media reports, a supplementary agreement was signed by unitholders around October 2024, to lower the reserve price for Thomson View from S$918 million to S$808 million. This allowed them to accept an S$810 million offer from developers UOL, Singapore Land and CapitaLand Development (CLD), which came in at below the asking price.
Justice Lim asked Hui to file another affidavit to explain how the collective sale agreement and supplementary agreement differed, and why 211 unitholders signed the collective sale agreement, but only 206 signed the supplementary one.
Lim said: “The affidavit should also explain how many of the unitholders signed between Jan 8, 2023, and Jan 7, 2024, and what proportion in terms of shares and plot size they comprise.”
The document should also address whether the 80 per cent consent required for a collective sale to go through was obtained within the 12-month period, the judge said.
“If the 80 per cent threshold was not made out, counsel (should) file written submissions explaining why the court should grant this application,” Lim said.
Lawyers representing the collective sale committee will have three weeks to submit these affidavits.
Thomson View’s collective sale was met with a stop order in March, after efforts to mediate and resolve objections to the sale were unsuccessful.
Objections were raised to the Strata Titles Boards by a small group of owners. The grounds on which they objected to the sale are unclear, but common objections include financial loss and that these unitholders believed that the collective sale did not take place in good faith.
Based on documents seen by The Business Times, all six of the objectors withdrew their objections.
BT understands that the court hearing on Thursday was initially meant for the collective sale committee to obtain a sale order from the High Court for Thomson View.
More than 20 unitholders attended the court hearing, which was open to the public.
While unitholders declined to speak to BT, many were visibly taken aback after the court hearing.
Thomson View, located on Bright Hill Road, was put up for tender in February 2024, but did not close a sale when the tender closed in September.
In October, developers UOL, SingLand and CLD signed a conditional call-and-put option to acquire the 99-year leasehold development for S$810 million, at an offer price that was 12 per cent lower than the condo owners’ original reserve price of S$918 million. The deal hinged on obtaining consent from at least 80 per cent of owners to lower their reserve price.
In November, the option for the en bloc purchase of Thomson View was exercised, UOL said in a statement to the stock exchange.
A sum of 5 per cent of the sale price (including the option deposit of S$1 million) was paid upon exercise of the option in November. A subsequent disclosure in UOL’s annual report released in April 2025 confirmed that its tender offer for Thomson View had been accepted. The collective sale was brokered by ETC.
The final price tag of S$810 million works out to S$1,178 per square foot per plot ratio for the five-hectare site, which UOL, SingLand and CLD plan to redevelop into a 1,240-unit project. Thomson View now houses 200 apartments, 54 townhouses and a shop unit.
If successful, the sale of Thomson View will be the largest en bloc deal done in Singapore since Chuan Park’s S$890 million sale in May 2023.
In response to queries from BT, UOL and CapitaLand said: “We are unable to comment on the specifics at this stage, as the matter is currently undergoing en bloc proceedings. We will provide updates and announcements at the appropriate time.”
The next High Court mention for the collective sale is scheduled for Jul 1.
Source: The Business Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.
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