Weave and LaSalle acquired 68 Robinson Road in 2022 for HK$275 million
Weave Living and LaSalle Investment Management are seeking HK$450 million ($57.4 million) for a serviced apartment tower in Hong Kong’s Mid-Levels West, market sources confirmed to Mingtiandi on Monday, as accommodation specialist Weave continues to reshape its hometown portfolio.
The partners have put up for sale the 25-unit Weave Residences Robinson after acquiring the former Wai Yan Court at 68 Robinson Road in 2022 for HK$275 million, with the latest asking price representing a 64 percent markup from that purchase.
The 26-storey property is being offered on an as-is basis with existing tenancies and will be sold via a company share transfer, joint sole agents Colliers and CBRE said Monday without commenting on pricing.
“Transaction volume in the accommodation sector during the first quarter has already reached nearly 80 percent of last year’s annual total, highlighting investors’ strong demand for income-generating hospitality assets,” said Thomas Chak, head of capital markets and investment services at Colliers.
Robinson Road Rarity
Located near the Central/Mid-Levels escalator, the residential building features a one-unit-per-floor layout with the top-floor home enjoying exclusive rooftop access.
Sachin Doshi, founder and group CEO of Weave Living
The property spans 26,460 square feet of gross floor area and has a total saleable area of 17,163 square feet (1,594 square metres). The saleable area excludes each floor’s 20 square foot private verandah, with the owners’ asking price translating to HK$26,219 per square foot.
Weave, led by founder and CEO Sachin Doshi, teamed with US property fund manager LaSalle to buy the building in August 2022 as the first deal under a $140 million equity joint venture. Completed in 1999, the tower occupies a 2,202 square foot site held under a 999-year lease that began in 1859, with the property positioned in an upscale residential area popular with bankers and other finance executives.
The building underwent a full refurbishment in 2023, and units offer open mountain views and partial sea views, while the ground floor provides two car parking spaces with direct access from Robinson Road.
Weave operates the project with 706 square foot, two-bedroom homes marketed to families and long-stay renters. The location’s website features listings with rents from HK$48,150 a month.
“Together with the neighboring nine-storey building, it offers considerable redevelopment and merger potential,” said Daniel Mok, senior director of capital markets at CBRE. “Its rare 999-year lease term, tantamount to perpetual ownership, makes this asset highly attractive for investors seeking both immediate rental income and long-term capital preservation.”
Beds in Demand
The marketing agents pointed to Tai Hung Fai Group’s recent disposals of two Shama serviced apartment buildings as signs of growing investment momentum in Hong Kong’s hotel and serviced residence sectors, with the Hollywood Road asset in Central selling for HK$230 million and the Kennedy Road property in Mid-Levels changing hands for HK$185 million.
Chak described 68 Robinson Road as one of the few en bloc residential buildings currently available in Hong Kong, with the asset standing out for its location next to the escalator, consistently high occupancy and premium tenant base of senior executives and professionals from Central’s core business district.
Those features give potential buyers immediate access to stable and sustainable rental returns, according to the Colliers executive, as investors continue to seek income-generating accommodation assets in a market where living sector properties have remained among the city’s most actively traded real estate targets.
The Robinson Road campaign comes after Weave last month moved to shift two of its Hong Kong properties into a new student housing strategy while putting Weave Studios Kai Tak up for sale, with market sources indicating an asking price of HK$460 million for the Kowloon East asset co-owned with US fund manager TPG.
Weave has continued to expand beyond Hong Kong, joining with TPG last week to acquire and develop a 550-unit purpose-built rental accommodation project in central Seoul. Scheduled for completion in mid-2030, the Sungin location will be positioned under Weave’s premium Weave Suites serviced apartment brand and marks the partners’ second institutional tie-up after Weave Studios Kai Tak.
