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Online Citizen
11 hours ago
- Business
- Online Citizen
Flor Patisserie bids goodbye as more local F&B outlets announce closures
In a heartfelt Facebook post, Japanese-style cake shop Flor Patisserie announced it would be closing its Siglap Drive outlet, bringing a 15-year journey to an emotional end. The shop, cherished for its artisanal offerings and community feel, will serve its last slice on 11 July. The reason behind the closure, revealed last month, was a drastic rent hike imposed by the landlord—S$5,400 monthly rent increased by 57 per cent to S$8,500 upon lease renewal. In a farewell message posted on 17 June, Flor Patisserie's founder Heidi Tan reflected on the business's journey: 'If every year were a chapter, this story would end with 15 chapters. It is time to say goodbye—for good. FLOR Patisserie was never just about cakes. It was about connection, creativity, and community.' Tan described the challenges of running a small business in Singapore, highlighting that courage is required not just to build something—but to let it go. 'As I close this chapter, I do so with a heart full of gratitude… The love and support you've shown has meant more than words can express.' The big players simply do not care: Flor Patisserie refutes Ervin Yeo, questions rent model's sustainability The patisserie has also been vocal about what it sees as an increasingly unsustainable rental ecosystem in Singapore. In a 9 June Facebook post, it questioned the mindset of commercial landlords. 'To them, your craft, your perseverance in offering something fresh—something not churned out days in advance from a central kitchen—is nothing more than a datapoint on their rental yield curve. ' 'And if that number doesn't align with their projections, it's goodbye to you and hello to the next trendy concept,' the shop added. Tan lamented that rent, though just one of many operational pressures, often becomes the most crushing—especially when driven by what she called 'short-term profit chasing'. She added that landlords' expectations fail to account for the 'social cost of exchanging the hopes and dreams of young Singaporeans for greater profits'. Her remarks came in direct response to Ervin Yeo, Chief Strategy Officer of CapitaLand Group, who had defended existing market dynamics in a lengthy LinkedIn post. Yeo cautioned that rent controls could destabilise the F&B sector, comparing them to hawker centre models where low rents can lead to erratic operations and weakened customer trust. He argued that vacancy taxes would have limited impact, as landlords are already incentivised to lease due to mortgage obligations. Yeo further warned against protectionist policies that might disproportionately affect Chinese brands—praised for their operational efficiency—while Western entrants face less scrutiny. As a more balanced alternative to rent control, he suggested offering temporary Development Charge (DC) relief, Yeo argued. Calls grow for rental reform as SMEs struggle with rising costs Amid this broader discontent, advocacy group Singapore Tenants United For Fairness (SGTUFF) weighed in on 12 June. In a statement, the group urged for urgent structural reforms in rental agreements to help SMEs stay afloat. SGTUFF proposed a two-pronged approach: short-term relief measures and long-term policy recalibration. Among their suggestions were rental caps tied to inflation and a national rethink of urban planning and commercial land use priorities. A wave of closures shakes the F&B sector Flor Patisserie's impending closure is not an isolated case. In fact, it coincided with announcements from other long-running F&B players. On the same day—17 June—Burp Kitchen & Bar shared its decision to shut down its outlet at Bishan Park on 27 July. After 11 years of service, the owners said the 'current F&B scene has proven too challenging' despite their best efforts. 'What began as a 100-seater restaurant in a quiet corner of Bishan Park grew into a place that had welcomed thousands of guests,' their post said. The statement acknowledged the emotional impact on patrons, noting that the restaurant had become a familiar, comforting presence in the community. 'We all mourn the loss of our favourite restaurants… When they're gone, much of the soul of the neighbourhoods in which they resided will be gone as well.' This marks Burp Kitchen's second closure within a year—the Bedok Reservoir outlet was shut in July 2024 after nine years. Local media have also reported other notable closures. Four Leaves, a long-standing homegrown bakery chain, shuttered its Paya Lebar Square outlet on 20 May. A HardwareZone forum user noted that the space is slated to be taken over by Mr Noodles (粉面先生), a local noodle brand. Meanwhile, Tiong Bahru Bakery is set to close its Funan outlet on 22 June, after five years in operation. The company shared a video earlier in March hinting at the closure, and separately announced that its Eng Hoon Street flagship would pause operations in August for renovations. 'Our very first and most beloved home on Eng Hoon Street will be closing this August for a short pause… When we return, everything you've come to love [will be] refreshed and reimagined.' Tiong Bahru Bakery continues to operate nearly 20 outlets islandwide. Closure of over 3,000 F&B establishments in 2024 Although the Urban Redevelopment Authority reported a 0.5 per cent dip in retail rents in the first quarter of 2025, the ground reality paints a grimmer picture. An average of 450 retail outlets shuttered every month during this period. A Reuters report from April noted that closures averaged 307 per month from January to April 2025, up from 254 in 2024 and about 230 per month in both 2023 and 2022. Last year alone saw the closure of over 3,000 F&B establishments – the highest number since 2005.
Business Times
27-04-2025
- Business
- Business Times
CapitaLand Investment's launch of new C-Reit comes as it takes long-term view of China business
[SINGAPORE] CapitaLand Investment (CLI) holds a long-term view of its business in China where it has built a strong foundation as part of the CapitaLand Group for over 30 years, said CLI's group chief executive officer Lee Chee Koon. Earlier this month, CLI announced it will launch its first real estate investment trust (Reit) in China with two major malls valued at 2.8 billion yuan (S$499 million). On CapitaLand Commercial C-Reit's proposed listing, Lee said: 'CLI wants to continue to tap into China's big domestic capital market to further grow its funds management business. Domestic investors are seeking opportunities to deploy their capital due to restrictions that limit the movement of yuan out from China. 'Leveraging CLI's local teams with strong investment and operating capabilities, it is able to source off-market deals, and work with its capital partners to structure deals to allow them to invest in quality assets that are well managed.' Amid the current challenging market, the group continues to strengthen its asset management team to drive occupancy and rental growth. 'Whatever that we do, we want to make sure that we are better than the market,' Lee added. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up CapitaLand was listed in 2000 through a merger between Pidemco Land and DBS Land. Lee said: 'It started off as a very Singapore-focused developer at that point in time. There was a big push to go beyond the region. We rode the China wave and built up a nice development business.' He said that when he took over as president and group CEO of CapitaLand Group in 2018, the board and the management did a review of the business. 'CapitaLand Group's business model had worked very well and built up a good foundation. However, when we looked at places like China, it was challenging for us to be competitive against the local developers because of (their) ability to secure land, build fast, manage the project at the lowest cost, and sell higher,' he said. 'During the CapitaLand Group days, the development process took a longer time; and being a listed entity, CapitaLand Group had traded at a big discount to book value.' This was because institutional investors generally do not like the lumpiness of the revenue and profits of development properties, Lee noted. 'So we made a decision… to say that long-term... we should... focus to become an asset management business.' In 2021, CapitaLand Group was restructured into real asset manager CapitaLand Investment and CapitaLand Development, the group's privatised development arm. Asked if there are plans to grow its management of third-party assets, Lee said the group would do so in a way that makes strategic sense. 'In China, location is important. We do not... want to manage assets in cities where we do not already have a presence because scale is important and synergies are important. We want to make sure that it's additive to the system so that we can help to strengthen the leasing network and improve the returns for our investors at the end of the day,' he said. Data centres in India Beyond China, another key market for the group is India, especially in data centres and business parks. CLI is the most diversified real asset player in India with presence across all the top cities, Lee said. The group has built a diversified portfolio comprising more than 40 IT and business parks, industrial, logistics, lodging and data centre assets across eight cities in India – Bangalore, Chennai, Goa, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune. Obtaining land with a clean title can be difficult in India but the group's 30 years of experience in India has enabled it to do so better than its peers, Lee said. Lee said: 'If you're a data centre operator without understanding of getting access to land, this becomes challenging... Being able to get land, being able to bring in power and being able to (add) on our data centre expertise – that's something we want to be able to do in India.' CLI's lodging unit, The Ascott, also announced this month it aims to double its portfolio in India to 12,000 units by 2028, up from about 5,500 units at the end of 2024. The self-storage sector is an asset class in which CLI sees strong potential, with rising urbanisation and smaller living spaces. Lee explained: 'Self-storage is a stable income-generating business as demand tends to be sticky. For example, customers typically store items such as their wine collections over a long period of time. Also, in countries where there are four seasons, customers will also typically store their winter wear and ski equipment after winter, and their summer wear after summer.' He noted: 'While it takes a bit longer to build up occupancy, depending on the location and how aggressive the marketing team is; but once the cashflows are there, it's very low maintenance. It's a great asset class... not just in Asia. We hope to do this in a more global manner.' The group, which announced last December it will acquire private credit investment manager Wingate Group Holdings, is looking to build up a broader Asia-Pacific private credit business. Many of the banks in Australia and South Korea are reducing their exposure to real estate financing because of regulatory reasons, Lee said. The group will assess more opportunities for South Korea and Australia, and some interesting opportunities may come up in Hong Kong and potentially Singapore. When asked if there were plans for any new acquisitions in Singapore, Lee said if there are good opportunities allowing CLI to extend its coverage, it will continue to pursue them. 'We aim to build a company with truly global reach and capabilities. As a home-grown company from Singapore, it's a great joy to have built a strong international track record and reputation – enabling us to raise capital from sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, family offices and corporates across the world to co-invest with us in opportunities based on the quality returns we have consistently delivered,' said Lee. 'A significant part of this success also stems from the trust that investors place in Singapore and a Singapore-incorporated company.'
