Fancl distributor couple buys Lippo Centre office, shop in US$38.3 million deal

The couple behind the Asia distributor of Japanese skincare brand Fancl has bought prime office and retail space in Hong Kong’s Admiralty district, highlighting selective bargain hunting by cash-rich local investors as commercial property prices remain under pressure.

Gourmet Dining Group, owned by Christopher Chan and wife Michelle Ma-chan, agreed on January 5 to buy a shop and a unit on the first floor as well as part of the mezzanine on the second floor at Lippo Centre for HK$299 million (US$38.3 million), Land Registry records showed. The property has a total gross floor area of about 28,700 sq ft.

The transaction implies a 60 per cent decline from its previous sale in 2017, when Winland Group bought the property for HK$729 million.

The deal stands out in a market where transaction activity has increasingly been driven by mainland Chinese investors, while many local developers and families have retreated amid high borrowing costs and weak office demand.

Chan is the managing director of Fantastic Natural Cosmetics, better known as Fancl, and has been the Japanese skincare brand’s exclusive distributor in Asia outside Japan since the mid-1990s. The couple also has investments in Hong Kong’s food and beverage sector through Gourmet Dining Group.

Michelle Ma-chan, along with husband Christopher Chan, has been among the more active buyers taking advantage of under-pressure commercial property prices. Photo: Jonathan Wong

The sale follows other recent office disposals by Winland Group, which has been selling its properties amid weak market conditions. Last month, the group sold the top floor of Bank of America Tower in Central to US-based technology firm Vobile for HK$198 million, which also translated to a discount of about 60 per cent.

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Fancl distributor couple buys Lippo Centre office, shop in US$38.3 million deal

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