SINGAPORE - Real estate group Hiap Hoe on Dec 19 announced the purchase of a 198-bedroom freehold motel property in Western Australia for A$40 million (S$36 million).

The property is Great Eastern Motor Lodge, which is situated along the Great Eastern Highway, the main road linking the domestic and international terminals at Perth Airport to the Western Australian capital’s central business district.

Hiap Hoe said the lodge benefits from an array of transport connections and serves as focal points of the inner-city suburb of Rivervale, which is undergoing a comprehensive regeneration involving multiple residential, commercial and lifestyle venue developments.

Hiap Hoe’s directors believe that the property presents a prime investment opportunity with high occupancy levels, and also provides an opportunity for the company to increase its recurrent income streams, it added.

Of the A$40 million, A$4 million was paid towards the purchase on Dec 19. The remaining A$36 million will be paid upon the acquisition’s completion, and is an amount that will be fully funded through a combination of internal resources and debt, the company said.

The new property will be held under Hiap Hoe’s new wholly owned unit trust in Australia – Meteorite Land (Great Eastern) Unit Trust – and is acquired through its indirect wholly owned subsidiary Meteorite Land (Great Eastern) as its trustee.

The sellers are S & C Christie, as trustee for the S & C Christie Family Trust.

The A$40 million consideration was arrived at on a willing buyer willing seller basis after taking into account the independent valuation of the property and various commercial factors, Hiap Hoe added.

Shares of Hiap Hoe closed flat at 66 cents before the announcement on Dec 19. THE BUSINESS TIMES