Saturday, December 8, 2007

STB Gives Go-Ahead For Horizon Towers En-Bloc Sale

Source : Channel NewsAsia, 07 December 2007

The en-bloc sale of Horizon Towers can now proceed, after the Strata Titles Board (STB) gave the green light on Friday.

The decision comes four days before the sale completion date expires on December 11.

The en-bloc sale of Horizon Towers is back on track, after a series of problems.

Trouble began in January this year, when the Horizon Towers sales committee agreed to sell the 210-unit property to buyers led by Hotel Properties Limited (HPL).

The price was S$500 million.

However the minority owners claimed that the majority owners had acted in bad faith, as it was not the most lucrative offer.

On August 3, the STB rejected the sale application, citing a technical error.

So the consenting parties appealed against STB's decision at the High Court.

The High Court agreed with them and returned the case to the STB on October 11.

But even as the appeal was being heard, 17 of the majority owners were facing lawsuits by HPL for alleged breach of contract.

In a statement on Friday, the consenting owners said they are happy with the latest STB decision.

They added that they "look forward to the buyers (led by HPL) confirming that they will proceed with the deal and withdrawing the legal suits they (the buyers) have started against some owners."

As for the minority owners, they told Channel NewsAsia that they are disappointed with STB's latest decision to give the sale the nod.

But they admitted that it was not unexpected.

Some of them are not ready to throw in the towel just yet, so this group is considering filing an appeal to the High Court.

If they decide to go ahead with this appeal, they have 28 days to do so. - CNA/ms

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