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Another Coffeeshop Sold at S$40 Million, This Time in Yishun & it Used to Cost $6 Million in 2007

2022-06-18 , 12:01 pm

Housing isn’t the only thing in Singapore with skyrocketing prices; coffeeshops are equally premium items.

On 16 Jun, a coffee shop located in Block 201 Tampines Street 21 has recently exchanged hands for the price of S$41,682,168.

And now, not even two days later, another coffeeshop is sold for around the same amount.

Another Coffeeshop Sold at S$40 Million, This Time in Yishun

If you stay near the coffeeshop at Block 848 Yishun Street 81, you should know that it has changed operator.

While its real price is slightly lower than the Tampines coffeeshop, it was reported that the latest coffeeshop to change hands is sold at a higher per square foot (psf) price.

For the 604sqm coffeeshop in Tampines, the new owner paid S$6,694 psf; a lower amount compared to the 397sqm coffeeshop in Yishun where the new owner paid S$9,361 psf.

The deal hasn’t been completed yet but a caveat has been filed.

Operator Took Over 15 Years Ago For S$6 Million

It was reported that the current operator took over the space back in 2007 and paid S$6 million for it.

According to the Singapore Land Authority (SLA), the coffeeshop still has 78 years remaining on its lease.

Rents Unchanged For Now

According to vendors that 8world interviewed, rent and the operator remain unchanged for now.

Negotiation for rental contract renewal is expected to start in July or August of this year.

Then, they will decide if they would want to remain at the coffeeshop depending on the proposed terms.

According to representatives from Foochow Coffee Restaurant & Bar Merchants Association and Kheng Keow Coffee Merchants Restaurant & Bar-Owners Association, the drastic spike in prices for coffeeshops would not have much of an impact on food prices.

Instead, more of the pressure will be on stallholders instead.

Stallholders Might Pull Out Of Tampines Coffeeshop Due To Rent

As one might expect, any property owner who had spent that amount of money would try to break even their losses as soon as possible.

And the situation is no different for the Tampines coffeeshop which recently sold for over S$41 million.

The hawkers who allowed themselves to be interviewed have chosen to seek anonymity (for fairly obvious reasons), but their opinions are pretty similar.

One hawker shared that their previous landlord has never resorted to increasing their rental prices in a significant manner over the 23 years that she’s been operating there.

However, after the coffeeshop changed hands two months ago, the new landlord increased her rental prices from S$6,000 to S$10,000, excluding other charges and miscellaneous fees.

It was only after “extensive negotiations” that she managed to cut down the rental price to S$9,000, but even then, the increased price is hard to bear.

Another stallholder bluntly told 8world reporters that many have decided to cancel their leases because of the huge increase in rent.

You can read more here.