Bids for British High Commission land may be called next week

KUALA LUMPUR: The British government is expected to put its 1.22ha land, where its High Commission here sits, on the market as early as next week.


Sources estimate that the deal could be concluded for as much as RM400 million, as the High Commission is sitting on a site as good as a gold mine.

Its land in Ampang, located near the Petronas Twin Towers, has doubled in value over the past year.

A year ago, estimates were that land in the area could fetch as much as RM1,500 per sq ft, but Mulpha International Bhd disposed of a piece of land recently in Jalan Sultan Ismail for RM3,300 per sq ft.

The planned sale followed a statement by the British High Commissioner to Malaysia Simon Featherstone, which was posted on the High Commission's website.

"Here in Malaysia, we will shortly be announcing that the British High Commission will next year be 'moving up in the world' to a brand new and environmentally state-of-the-art office tower," Featherstone said.

As such, a source familiar with the matter said, announcements on the High Commission's relocation as well as advertisements inviting tenders will be made next week.

It is understood that the British High Commission wants to move out from its current location because the site is "also costly to run and guard".

"The current offices on Jalan Ampang were designed in the 1980s to match working practices of that era and include units of accommodation and other facilities that are no longer required in the KL of the 21st century," Featherstone said.
Facilities include office, residences, a swimming pool and tennis courts.

The timing of the sale, however, hinges on the High Commission finding a suitable location to move to.

Parties which may be interested in the High Commission's land are said to be its immediate neighbours.

These include Boustead Properties Bhd, IOI Group, HSC Healthcare Sdn Bhd and Sri Mersing Hotels Sdn Bhd.

The privately held Sri Mersing is linked to Malaysia's richest man Robert Kuok. Sri Mersing also owns the vacant land at the corner of Jalan Ampang and Jalan Tun Razak.

HSC operates the HSC Medical Centre, which neighbours the High Commission while Boustead Properties has a project named 183 Ampang located behind the High Commission.
The IOI Group, meanwhile, has land in the embassy enclave in Kuala Lumpur.

Interestingly, this piece of land being put up for sale was given to the British government in return for giving up Carcosa in 1987. The British government had until then used Carcosa as its diplomatic residence.

Carcosa (which is part of the Carcosa Seri Negara), meanwhile, has been closed for over two-and-a-half years now.