Hong Kong Transformers restaurant operator denies closure rumours, says has growth plan

The operator of the Transformers-themed eatery says it has no intention of shutting down the Causeway Bay branch, after closing an outlet in Tseung Kwan O

The group behind the Transformers: The Ark restaurant in Causeway Bay denied that it was planning to shut down its outlet in Hong Kong even as an overall softening in retail spending was affecting its operations, according to a spokesman.

The operator, A La Carte, confirmed it had closed a Transformers branch in Tseung Kwan O, but intended to continue operating the Russell Street eatery, according to Tony Smyth, senior vice-president for corporate development and communications at iFree group. A La Carte is the group’s food and beverage division.

“We have no intention of closing down our flagship store,” Smyth said. “Our fit-outs are high quality and the Causeway Bay outlet is integral to our expansion plans.” The restaurant’s lease expires in 2026, he added.

The company closed the Tseung Kwan O branch on July 2, within months of opening earlier this year.

Smyth said the Tseung Kwan O outlet did not thrive because of “wrong demographics and that the expected bigger rebound of the Hong Kong economy did not materialise”.

The owners of Soundwill Plaza, where the restaurant is located on Russell Street, declined to comment when contacted by the Post.

Market sources said the landlord was looking for a new tenant or tenants to occupy the 4,540 sq ft space spread over three floors.

Apart from the slower than expected growth, Hong Kong’s retail sector is also suffering from residents spending more either across the border in Shenzhen and Guangzhou or overseas.

As of end-June, outbound travel by the city’s residents had exceeded 2018 levels on an annualised basis, according to a report released earlier this week by S&P Global Ratings. Crossing the border into Shenzhen for shopping and dining at comparatively lower prices has also become more popular among local residents.

Meanwhile, online shopping is eating away at retailers’ revenues, as the segment’s share of total retail sales rose to 8.7 per cent in May, higher than the average of 8.1 per cent from 2020 to 2022.

At the same time, tourist arrivals have not fully recovered and spending by same-day visitors from mainland China remains lower than in 2018, S&P said.

Smyth said that to weather the crisis, the restaurant is rolling out promotional activities and efforts to appeal to a bigger customer base, including party packages, school events and regular updates of the menu.

“A lot of business in Hong Kong is suffering,” Smyth said. “Many of our peers are struggling too.”

Property agents said A La Carte was paying HK$1 million (US$128,000) a month for the space, but Smyth declined to reveal the monthly rent.

Burberry, the previous tenant, was said to be paying HK$2 million a month. The British luxury house paid HK$8.6 million in monthly rent at Soundwill Plaza in 2015 at the height of Hong Kong’s retail boom.

The Ark opened in April last year and has been selling Transformers-stamped hamburger buns as well as figurines of the famed robot series.

(South China Morning Post)

For more information of Office for Lease in Soundwill Plaza please visit: Office for Lease in Soundwill Plaza

For more information of Grade A Office for Lease in Causeway Bay please visit: Grade A Office for Lease in Causeway Bay

Hong Kong’s New World, Far East primed for sell-out at The Pavilia Forest I amid strong demand

As of 8:25pm, 180 of the 198 units on offer at the new development in Kai Tak had been sold

Hong Kong homebuyers flocked to this weekend’s sale of heavily discounted flats at The Pavilia Forest, a joint project between New World Development and Far East Consortium in the Kai Tak district, as property agents expected all the units on offer to be sold out by Saturday night.

As of 8:25pm, 180 of the 198 units on offer had been sold, according to the agents. The Pavilia Forest I recorded more than 3,700 orders from prospective buyers as of Wednesday, which made this weekend’s sale close to 18 times oversubscribed, local media reported.

Prices at The Pavilia Forest I are the lowest among the new projects launched in Kai Tak, according to a property agent who predicted a sell-out on the back of strong interest in the aggressively priced flats on offer.

The first 60 flats of the project were being offered for as low as HK$16,008 (US$2,050) per square foot, with discounts of up to 18 per cent compared to other new developments in the same area, according to a property agency. The initial units on offer, ranging between 234 and 512 square feet (47.6 square metres), are priced from HK$3.86 million to HK$9.87 million.

The strong demand shows how the city’s property developers continue to cough up significant discounts to entice homebuyers amid a persistent housing market slump.

Hong Kong’s recent property launches have been priced as much as 10 per cent lower, compared to projects in the same period in 2015, according to data from another property agency.

Among Saturday’s The Pavilia Forest I homebuyers was a group that planned to spend HK$40 million on six units, most which are two- bedroom flats, according to the agent.

Projects in Kai Tak used to primarily attract mainland Chinese buyers, the agent said. For The Pavilia Forest I, most clients this weekend were local buyers, with only 30 per cent from the mainland.

Transactions in the city fell for a second consecutive month in June, down more than 30 per cent from May, according to official data. Property sales briefly bounced back in March and April after all cooling measures were scrapped on February 28.

In the residential segment, transactions fell 30.5 per cent on a monthly basis to 3,856 in June, while sales also shrank by 35 per cent to HK$34.5 billion (US$4.4 billion). Overall property transactions – including shops, car parks, industrial spaces, office units and homes – fell 28.7 per cent to 5,245 units, while the total value declined 34 per cent to around HK$42 billion, according to data published last week by the Land Registry.

Hong Kong is expected to see around 1,300 transactions in the primary market in July, double from more than 600 in June. Meanwhile, the volume of secondary transactions will remain steady at around 3,500, similar to the previous month, according to the agent.

“The low pricing of the The Pavilia Forest I project, along with new projects entering the market in Tuen Mun, should help to further stimulate buying demand,” the agent said.

(South China Morning Post)

「香港石油大王」家族基金 8600萬購長沙灣甲廈

近日有不少老牌家族入市，已故東方石油創辦人劉浩清家族旗下同名教育基金，斥8,600萬元購入長沙灣南商金融創新中心商廈單位，呎價約1.6萬元。

南商金融創新中心屬於長沙灣新落成甲級商廈，根據資料顯示，該廈26樓A3、A5及A6室在上月底以8,600萬元成交，以有關單位合計面積5,232平方呎，平均呎價約16,437元。

劉浩清教育基金承接 呎價1.6萬

據悉，新買家為劉浩清教育基金有限公司，料與有「香港石油大王」之稱的東方石油創辦人劉浩清家族有關。資料顯示，劉浩清早年經營五金廠、輪船，及後在上世紀70年代在香港涉足石油業，在2016年離世，終年97歲。

南商金融創新中心近一年成交呎價介乎1.29萬至1.64萬元，其中低一層25樓單位，面積1744平方呎，在上月初以2800.8萬元一手沽出，呎價約1.6萬元，因此上述劉浩清教育基金購入單位料屬於市價水平。

新世界旗下項目 前年入伙

位於荔枝角道888號的南商金融創新中心，由新世界發展，前年入伙，項目早在2020年開始拆售，包括瑞士名表品牌Franck Muller在2022年年底斥逾6300萬元購入22樓3伙，呎價約1.5萬元。至於南洋商業銀行則以近12億元購入該商廈最高3層，合共面積逾6.5萬平方呎，平均呎價1.75萬元，並取得商廈命名權。

(經濟日報)

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