Horizon Towers: Info sheet

- Who's who: (bracket dates reference the excerpted news dates)
- 'Sellers'(9Aug): 173 owners at Horizon Towers (HT) in Leonie Hill, who signed the agreement to sell & could be sued for lost profits.
- 'handled the sale for the sellers': Mr Jimmy Yim of Drew and Napier (D&N); (9Aug): marketing agent First Tree Properties.
- 'Buyers': Hotel Properties Limited (HPL), Morgan Stanley Real Estate and Qatar Investment Authority
- 'Buyers Lawyers'(4Aug) : K Shanmugam and William Ong, Allen & Gledhill (A&G)
- 'Mr Ong Beng Seng'(Td11Aug): managing director, HPL; )who just brought in F1 [forum#465]).
- 'Objectors'(5Aug): 33 Owners who did not sign the agreement
- 'Deputy chairman of the sales committee(SC)'(CNA8Aug): Ms Doreen Siow
- 'sales committee member'(ST12Aug): MS Joyce Tan
- 'The authorities': Strata Titles Board (STB)

Lawyers (seller gp):
- 'sales committee's lawyers' (CNA8Aug07): Senior Counsel Chelva Rajah of Tan, Rajah & Cheah.
- 'Mr Hendra Gunawan and three'(5Aug): Mr Philip Fong, Harry Elias Partnership.
- 'group of 3 objectors'(5Aug): Mr Kannan Ramesh of Tan Kok Quan Partnership.
- 'another owner'(5Aug): Dr S K Phang, Pang & Co.
- 'group of majority owners'(CNA8Aug): Shriniwas Rai, Partner, Hin Rai & Tan.
- 'company that owns several units'(8Aug): Senior Counsel Michael Hwang enlisted by Dr S.K.Phang.

- HT= 99 years lease hold, 71 years remaining, [Td12Aug]: 'occupying 204,742 square feet of prime residential land.'
- [ST12Aug]: "... If the ($500M) sale had gone through, the owners of the 199 flats would have pocketed $2.3 million while the 11 penthouse owners would have walked away with $4 million or more each."
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Time line, details: Horizon Towers (please note [dates in square brackets] reference news dates; minor edits might have been)
(2006)
- 11Jul06: a notice put up saying that owners with 80.81 per cent of share values in Horizon Towers had signed the sale agreement. (see dispute below)
- August 2006: Horizon Towers (HT) tender fails to attract offers at the $500 million reserve price.

(2007)
- 12Feb07: $500M deal was struck (must be sealed by Aug 11) with Hotel Properties and partners (about $815 per sq ft (psf) of potential gross floor area)
- Late April 2007: Grangeford (a neighbouring leasehold development five years older) tender sets record asking price of $2,016 psf of potential gross floor area.
- May 2007: A group of owners who feel shortchanged by the sale, ... attempted to reverse it.
- Late May: Although 33 owners objected to the sale, only nine turned up to file an official objection with the board... four by Mr Philip Fong, three by Tan Kok Quan Partnership, another by Pang & Co, and the last chose to represent himself.
- Late May 2007: Mediation hearing at the STB held.
- 9June: Strata Titles Board (STB) mediation breakdown..
- June 2007: Overseas Union Enterprise inked conditional deal to buy Grangeford at $1,810 psf of potential gross floor area
- [ST 12June]: 'eight unit owners had not agreed to the original sale'... ... 'a formal tribunal hearing is expected next month... ... 39 owners have petitioned for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on June18. On the agenda is a move to remove the current nine-member sales committee that brokered and finalised the collective sale..., (and) to elect a new nine-member committee to review the sale... ... law firm Drew & Napier, which is handling the collective sale, has previously indicated that owners have no legal grounds to back out of the sale'
- [July6,2007(Fri)]: A ruling on Wednesday set the hearing dates for July 27 to Aug 2.
- [July 17,2007]: 'minority owners ... applied to the High Court last week for leave to apply for judicial review ..., ...(originally) scheduled to be heard on 19July. However, it is now uncertain when their application will be heard. A check with the Supreme Court website yesterday shows that their hearing has been struck off the list of summonses to be heard on Thursday before Justice Lee Seiu Kin.
- [July 21,2007]- High Court bid by minority owners for more time to present their case to the Strata Titles Board has failed... [purchasers, represented by Senior Counsel K. Shanmugam, argued that if this (ie postpone hearing) happened, the majority owners who consented to the sale would be unlikely to extend the deadline for the en bloc deal.]
- [03August2007,2103hrs CNA]: STB dismisses the Horizon Towers collective sale on technical grounds.
- [7Aug2007]: "STB ruled on Friday that the collective sale could not go through because certain legal requirements had not been complied with... ... insufficient notices were posted and some documents were not filed."
- 6Aug (Mon): The buyers then sent a letter of demand to the majority sellers... asking that the sellers push back the collective sale completion deadline, currently on Aug 11, by four months and file a fresh application for a collective sale order. [9Aug: Michelle Quah]
- [7Aug2007]: "failed buyers allege breach of contract ... estimate loss to be $800 million to $1 billion.... urging the sellers to consider alternative courses of action. These include extending the deadline for the sales option beyond this Saturday."- (http://forums.condosingapore.com/showpost.php?p=11092&postcount=105)
- [8Aug07]: K Shanmugam says: "The application that was made was faulty, which is what the STB has ruled. So from our perspective, the sellers have not complied with their contractual obligation to make a proper application in court. We therefore decided that we will sue unless the demands ... (are) met... ... "The choices in this case for all parties are quite stark. For us, if we walk away, there are two substantial international parties who had confidence in Singapore and who have invested in this project. And the third, HPL, is a public company answerable to shareholders. And if they walk away and do nothing, how are they going to answer to their shareholders? And it's a substantial loss."
- [8Aug]: "... (HPL) claiming up to $1 billion in lost profits. The extraordinary claim works out to about $5.78 million for each unit..."
- [11Aug(Td)]: "... ... A source familiar with en bloc sales said the technical hitch revolves around some of the names of the sellers in the sales purchase agreement. The attention to detail in preparing such documents has been overshadowed by the frenzy in clinching lucrative deals, he said. "A seasoned developer would have gone through details like the names of sellers with a fine toothcomb, although it is not the developer's duty to do so.
'It's all about the old-school ideal of wanting a water-tight deal so that a sour aftertaste can be avoided."
... how can this messy affair be resolved?... That opportunity will come in two weeks when they (sellers) vote on whether the deadline for the failed sale should be extended. ... ... Unless two home truths sink in: Don't look back once you have sold your property, even if the price goes up after the deal has been done. And don't treat your property as a house, treat it as a home. In a land where asset enhancement and upgrading are uttered freely, the Horizon Towers episode shows what can happen when frenzy overtakes reason, when making money overwhelms values and when the home is treated as a lottery. A sobering thought as we celebrate 42 years of independence."
- [12Aug(ST)]: " ... the sales committee will appeal against the Aug 3 decision of the Strata Titles Board (STB) dismissing the $500M sale on technical grounds. If the appeal succeeds, another sale application can be made to the STB, but not under the terms - and price - of the old agreement as that died yesterday. Yesterday's decision - after two days of intense legal meetings - could also fend off a threatened lawsuit from the intended owners, Hotel Properties Limited (HPL), Morgan Stanley Real Estate and Qatar Investment Authority. ..."
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adapted: http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/BgSty_146593_2.html
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'Knowledge infopage':
- This was the first time in seven years a collective property sale had been overturned as a result of objections by a minority of owners.
- Legally, if an application to STB does not comply with requirements laid out in the Act, the board does not have the jurisdiction to grant an order, even if there are no objectors.[4Aug].
- DrMinority: "Bear in mind the law states very clearly - majority owners cannot object and therefore have absolutely NO SAY in any STB hearing. Only minority owners can do that." (http://forums.condosingapore.com/showpost.php?p=11368&postcount=220)
- sources told The Straits Times that cases of irregularities were presented by the objecting lawyers... included a notice put up on 11Jul06 saying that owners with 80.81 per cent of share values in Horizon Towers had signed the sale agreement. A sale needs 80 per cent consensus. But only 79 per cent had agreed to the sale at that time, lawyers said.
- [4Aug]: "STB's rejection of the sale was unexpected - as was its brief, two-line judgment delivered after lunch yesterday... ... "
- [4Aug'Tday']: "As en bloc sale prices skyrocketed, owners who had originally consented to the deal joined in the dissenting voices, pointing out that the $500-million deal no longer reflected the condominium's 'true value'."
- [4Aug]: 'HPL's stock fell 20 cents to close at $4.68 yesterday. STB's rejection of the sale was unexpected - as was its brief, two-line judgment delivered after lunch yesterday.'
- [5Aug]: "WHEN Mr Hendra Gunawan and three of his neighbours tried to engage lawyers to block the collective sale of Horizon Towers, three firms turned them down flat.All felt they had no case. The last time the Strata Titles Board (STB) ruled in favour of minority owners was seven years ago... ... Although 33 owners objected to the sale, only nine turned up to file an official objection with the board in late May... ...Lawyers, however, say that the contract to sell was conditional upon STB's approval. That would have protected the majority owners from a breach of a commercial contract.... ...One lawyer who spoke on condition of anonymity said: 'This is a big area, and if the potential loss to the buyer is $500 million, then they might be willing to spend $1 million to test the case in court."
- [8Aug]: "The wrangle is also striking for the number of top-flight legal eagles it has attracted."
- [9Aug]: "The sellers' lawyers and marketing agent First Tree Properties could also be in the firing line as the owners could counter-sue them for not getting the paperwork right, said an observer. 'The case shows that there's no incentive to be a consenting owner as you can end up being a potential defendant.'... ... 'it may scare off owners and kill the booming collective sale market'.... 'It's a big Pandora's box.'"
- [12Aug ST]: "'We heard many views from home owners who are anxious over the prospect of litigation. The feeling was that they did not do anything wrong but they are faced with potential lawsuits with huge claims against them.' MS JOYCE TAN, Horizon Towers sales committee member."

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Other Allegations/ concerns about fairplay. [excerpted from forums, news reports]
http://forums.condosingapore.com/showthread.php?t=2093
- #101 (early Aug): "Was told 4 of Horizon SC members bought second units during en bloc process. ... No wonder SC rushed the sale and negligently"
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Unverified info:

#700(response to #699): "HPL conveyancing lawyer is Lee & Lee. Seems like lots of dirty laundry will be exposed".
http://forums.condosingapore.com/showpost.php?p=12170&postcount=700