Beverly Group extends its reach to KL city fringe

Starting out as a civil structure contractor, Singapore-based Beverly Group Sdn Bhd — a subsidiary of Singapore-registered Qingdao Investments Pte Ltd — became a property developer when its founder and CEO Lim Seak Koon decided to experience property development “from the other side”.

“When Mr Lim worked as a contractor, he saw the risk profiles of both contractors and developers. Although as a property developer, you have to take a risk where the market is concerned, if you are smart and willing, you will do better than contractors,” Beverly Group sales and marketing executive director Wendy Tang tells City & Country.

Since the group’s inception in 1980, it has completed four projects worth RM1.5 billion. The developer currently has eight ongoing projects in Malaysia, Singapore and China.

Its completed developments in Singapore include Parc Haven, with 137 apartments, and Chuan Vista, with 19 terraced and semi-detached houses, which were completed in 2005 and 2000 respectively.

Its ongoing projects include the Guangzhou International Golf Club in Xiancun in Xintang Town, and Guangzhou Dolce Vita — with 2,785 high-rise and low-rise apartments and commercial units — in Guangzhou, China.

“Mr Lim was one of the pioneer investors in China in the 1980s — 1983 to be exact — and when he first went, he was very welcomed,” says Tang. “He fell in love with China because he saw a lot of potential in it, way before the country opened its doors to investors.”

Beverly Group’s flagship development in Malaysia is Marc Residence. Launched in 2003, the 637 serviced apartments are located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur city centre (KLCC) in Jalan Pinang. Tang says the units, which were completed in 2007, are now fully occupied. They were sold for an average price of RM700 psf and rented out for around RM3,000 per month at the time of their launch.

From there, Beverly Group went on to launch 28 BLVD in March last year. The project is a 50:50 joint venture with Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd. Sitting on 11.07 acres in Pandan Perdana, Kuala Lumpur, the project comprises two towers of serviced apartments, two towers of small office/home office (SoHo) units, and two levels of commercial units. With 450 sq ft studios, and apartments that range from 678 sq ft (two-bedroom units) to 1,744 sq ft (five-bedroom units), it has seen a take-up of 75% since its launch.

“We were one of the first to implement small units in our apartments,” Tang remarks. “This was during 2003 when the trend hadn’t caught on yet, and people were confused as to why we were doing it.

“Our customers were initially a bit sceptical,” Tang laughs. “But after they saw our showroom, they were impressed. We’re trying to showcase a different way of city living — we take conscious care where the designs of our units are concerned, so that there are no wasted corners or corridors. We want to design something pragmatic because every inch counts.”

Now, the group is again venturing out of the city centre to Wangsa Maju where its latest development, Lexa Residence, will be located. It is about 4.6km from KLCC.

“We bought the Wangsa Maju site, which has a huge potential because of its proximity to KLCC, in 2013,” Tang remarks. “Now that we’ve completed developments within the city centre, we’re turning to the fringe area.” - The Edge Property