SINGAPORE : Horizon Towers has lost its sales committee.
The last three members of the committee have thrown in the towel, after a meeting on Friday night.It's the latest twist in an already complicated en bloc sale.
The September 7 meeting was held so that owners can decide on what they need to do next.
They are facing a lawsuit filed by Hotel Properties Limited (HPL) and its partners who are buying over Horizon Towers.
The buyers are taking the sellers to court for failing to file a proper sales application.
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The last three members of the committee have thrown in the towel, after a meeting on Friday night. It's the latest twist in an already complicated en bloc sale.
The buyers also alleged that owners are backing out of the deal.
The latest developments put the entire en bloc sale in limbo.
Security was tight at Friday's closed-door meeting. A hotel ballroom for 450 people was booked for five hours so that owners can unanimously decide the next step forward.
But about two hours into the meeting which started at 8:30 pm and ended after 10 pm, the last three standing members of the sales committee quit.
One of them, who did not want to be identified, said it was just difficult to stay on.
"Some owners say we should do this, while some say we should do that. And they're using the lawyers' letters to threaten the sales committee. If I turn right, I have a lawyers'. I turn left and I have another lawyers' letter. So you can't really function. There were originally a sale committee of nine people, but over the last few days, many have resigned because of the threatening letters and the pressure, which is quite large," said a former sales committee member.
As to the lawsuit filed by HPL, the former sales committee member said: "It's actually quite disappointing that it's a big corporate who is doing such a thing. And all these people (the owners), they're so frightened. Everyone is split and now homeowners are suing one and another, trying to put blame on one another. I think it’s quite sad."
Inside the meeting, opinion amongst the owners was also split.
One camp said they should give in to the buyers' demand and delay the sale by another four months.
Another camp wanted to wait for the High Court decision.
The homeowners had filed an appeal to the High Court against the decision by the Strata Titles Board which had rejected their sales application because of a technical error.
"Emotions were running high. But I think the meeting was orderly and people gave their views. And people respected the views given although they disagree with each other," said Shriniwas Rai, a lawyer representing five of the owners.
After the meeting, home owners disbanded and discussed amongst themselves on the next step.
Horizon Towers' lawyer Chelve Rajah who was also present at the meeting refused to comment.
The High Court will hear the property's appeal on September 28.
In February, HPL and its partners, Morgan Stanley Real Estate and Qatar Investment Authority, signed a deal with more than 84 percent of owners of the property at Leonie Hill for $500 million.
But the sale did not go through. Last month, the Strata Titles Board rejected the sale due to a technicality.
It is understood that there was an error in the application, submitted by the sellers.
So HPL and its partners sued the sellers for not making a proper application and for alleged breach of contract.
If the sellers lose their case, owners of 173 units who agreed to sell may each be personally liable for $5.78m. - CNA /ls
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