Hong Kong retail property fund suffers 30% capital loss on 3 deals amid market gloom
Fund is raising cash to get ready for other buying opportunities amid market stress, founder Edwin Lee says
Bridgeway Prime Shop Fund Management, which invests in retail and shop lots in Hong Kong, has suffered a hit of about 30 per cent in three deals over the past two months as geopolitical tensions and diminished bets on rate cuts hurt prices and market sentiment.
The fund sold a ground-level shop at Tung Lee Mansion in Sai Ying Pun for HK$15.6 million (US$2 million) last week, founder Edwin Lee told the Post on Thursday. It purchased the asset for HK$24.5 million three years ago, according to Land Registry records.
Earlier this month, it sold a ground-level shop at One Eighty in Shau Kei Wan for HK$20.1 million, versus its average acquisition cost of HK$25 million in July 2023. Last month, Bridgeway divested a ground-level shop at 126-128 Woosung Street in Kowloon for HK$18.7 million, after paying HK$27.5 million for it three years ago.
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Overall, the fund suffered a HK$22.6 million capital loss from the three disposals.
“We will keep offloading our assets to cash out around HK$300 million,” Lee said. The fund is boosting its liquidity to invest in other assets with good potential amid the market stress, Lee added.
The capital market would definitely be impacted by the US-China trade war as investment confidence weakens, he said, reiterating his view during an interview last month.