Historic theater sells for $1 billion

Staff reporter

A property in North Point housing one of Hong Kong's iconic theaters is said to have changed hands for HK$1 billion, fetching the seller a windfall of more than HK$800 million.

The portfolio of properties comprising the Sunbeam Theatre, ground floor to sixth floor, and rooftop of the Kiu Fai Mansion on King's Road in North Point had been put up for tender by Savills in August.

Kiu Fai Mansion has around 96,000 square feet of total gross floor area and Toyo Mall, under veteran investor Francis Law Sau-fai, bought the landmark theater and the shopping mall for HK$168 million in 2003.

The theater and commercial area are located on the ground to fifth floor, while the sixth is for residential use.

The property up for tender constituted about 77.4 percent of the undivided shares of the building, which is close to the compulsory sale application threshold of 80 percent.

Sunbeam Theatre has been operating since 1972 and is renowned for its Chinese traditional art performances and Cantonese opera in particular.