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The potential en bloc sale of the Beauty World Food Centre has hit a roadblock, after the High Court declined to grant three of its trustees the power to push through with the $17.5 million deal, reported The Straits Times.
This comes as the three trustees, in the process leading to the deal, fell short of their duty to secure the best price for the stall holders, said Justice Hoo Sheau Peng.
Notably, no valuation on the property was conducted prior to the sale, nor was an open call for interest to acquire the property was made, said the judge.
The stall holders were not also given timely updates on critical issues like the proper time to consent to the sale or how the proceeds would be apportioned.
In fact, “there was no awareness that the trustees had no power to sell and no advice was sought from lawyers”, added the judge.
And while the trustees’ lawyer, Jimmy Yap, tried to address some of the issues, his efforts failed to “close the prior gaps”.
With this, the court ordered the trustees to pay the dissenting stall holders legal costs amounting to $7,000.
Yap, however, revealed that the decision does not preclude the trustees from returning to court to ask for the power to conduct another en bloc sale.
Located on the fourth floor of the strata-titled Beauty World Centre in Bukit Timah, the food centre features 41 food stalls, but with the property’s title contained in a single strata certificate.
This means that the food centre cannot be sold without the consent of all stall owners.
This article was edited by Keshia Faculin.
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