SUNCITY BECAME SUMMIT ASCENT’S PARENT COMPANY TdC ADJUSTED EBITDA TURNED POSITIVE IN 2H 2020 AS A RESULT OF SOLID LOCAL RUSSIAN BUSINESSES IN MASS & ELECTRONIC GAMING DIVERSIFY INTO THE PHILIPPINES

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 23 March 2021 – SUMMIT ASCENT HOLDINGS LIMITED (“Summit Ascent”, the “Group” or “Company”) (Hong Kong Stock Exchange code: 102) today reported results for the six months and twelve-month periods for the year ended 31 December 2020. All amounts are expressed in HKD unless otherwise stated.

2H & FULL YEAR ANNUAL 2020 RESULTS HIGHLIGHTS:

Summit Ascent: Suncity has Every Reason to Back Up Summit Ascent as Suncity is now the Parent Company of Summit Ascent

• Summit Ascent became a subsidiary of Suncity Group Holdings Limited (“Suncity”, HKEx: 1383) since October 2020, and Suncity is dedicated to help Summit Ascent’s businesses as Suncity now owns 69.66% of Summit Ascent
• Summit Ascent increased holdings of Tigre de Cristal to approximately 77.5%, from previously 60% since November 2020
• Full Year Group Total Revenue of HK$211.2 million, down 60% year-on-year
• Full Year Profit Attributable to Owners of the Company of HK$10.0 million, down 88% year-on-year

Tigre de Cristal: Solid Local Mass & Electronic Gaming Businesses when Borders were Closed; Adjusted EBITDA Turned Positive in 2H 2020; Cost-Cutting Initiative in Place

• Tigre de Cristal recorded a decent recovery in mass and electronic gaming businesses in 2H
• Full Year Net Revenue from gaming operations of HK$202.9 million, down 58% year-on-year
• Full Year Total Gross Gaming Revenue (“GGR”) of HK$249.7 million, down 69% year-on-year
• Full Year negative Adjusted EBITDA of HK$14.7 million, compared to a positive Adjusted EBITDA of HK$214.8 million in 2019
• 2H Adjusted EBITDA of HK$7.4 million, down 93% year-on-year and turned from negative Adjusted EBITDA of HK$22.1 million in 1H to positive
• Average Hotel occupancy was 12% during weekends and 19% during weekdays in 2020

Balance Sheet: Solid and Liquid Balance Sheet; Zero Gearing

• As at 31 December 2020, bank balances and cash were at HK$1,562.3 million
• The Group had no outstanding bank borrowing throughout the year; Gearing ratio was 0%

2H & FULL YEAR ANNUAL 2020 RESULTS HIGHLIGHTS (cont’d):

Development Update: Tigre de Cristal Phase I upgrade ready; Phase II Planning & Design on its Way; Diversifying into the Philippines

• Tigre de Cristal Phase I upgrade ready – Brand-new Suncity VIP room, restaurants and a new private club are now ready;
• Phase II planning & design on its way – minor delays due to COVID-19; Continue development works with Phase II
• Diversifying into the Philippines – Invest in one of the fastest -growing Asian gaming jurisdictions in Asia, the Philippines, through the investment in 6% coupon convertible bonds in SunTrust

A Letter from Mr. Chau Cheok Wa, Chairman

Dear fellow Summit Ascent shareholders,

COVID-19 has undoubtedly been the biggest disruptor to our business when a number of governments have issued entry restrictions, visa suspensions and quarantine measures for travellers and Tigre de Cristal was required to suspend its operation temporarily for almost 4 months last year. 2020 was far from perfect, yet, I am grateful to the Russian government’s swift and decisive actions taken to protect the citizens during the pandemic. I could not have expressed my gratitude enough for the joint efforts of the Russian government, the local Primorsky Krai government, the medical and research staff as well as the citizens of Vladivostok, who cooperated to comply with the hygiene and anti-epidemic measures. Without them, Tigre de Cristal would not have been allowed to resume operation in July 2020. Safety is of paramount importance to us, and we will deliver all necessary precautionary measures recommended by the authorities to ensure a worry-free entertainment experience for our guests.

Amidst the doom and gloom, we remain focused on executing operationally while vigorously managing our costs. Since the implementation of the Group-wide cost-cutting initiative, we have realised savings without significantly impacting our service quality or making large scale redundancies. While Tigre de Cristal delivered a full-year negative Adjusted EBITDA of HK$14.7 million in 2020, I am glad to report a silver lining – Since the reopening in mid-July, not only did Tigre de Cristal manage to breakeven on a month-on-month basis, it also delivered a positive Adjusted EBITDA in the second half of 2020, thanks to strong local demand for high-quality entertainment and hospitality services. Electronic gaming and mass table volumes have almost returned to the pre-pandemic levels, a testament that confirms my belief that Summit Ascent is worth investing for the long-term because Tigre de Cristal is an integrated resort well-loved by both local Russians and tourists. In addition, I am also pleased to report a Net Profit Attributable to Owners of the Company of HK$10.0 million, though primarily non-cash in nature, it sets a good start for Summit Ascent’s future development.

Since October 2020, Summit Ascent became a subsidiary of Suncity Group Holdings Limited (“Suncity”, stock code: 1383), which holds approximately 69.66% of Summit Ascent. Now being the parent company, Suncity has every reason to back up Summit Ascent to ensure that it can leverage on the resources under the Suncity umbrella. I am also pleased to announce that a new Direct VIP business will be set up, tapping into the nearby Korean, Japanese and Southeast Asian markets. On one hand, this new business could help Summit Ascent achieve vertical integration, a move to boost returns in the high-roller market. On the other hand, Summit Ascent is backed by a team of sophisticated professionals with years of experiences in the gaming sector that lends a helping hand on credit risk management.

Though the Tigre de Cristal Phase II development progress has been inevitably affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, our team is busy working together to reimagine the brand-new, awe-inspiring Phase II. Not only will Phase II triple the number of the existing hotel rooms and double the number of its existing gaming facilities, it will also encompass novel non-gaming entertainment ideas such as a state-of-the-art heated swimming pool allowing indoor pool-side parties with virtual reality and e-sports concepts to happen all-year-round. Guests will also be treated with the finest wine and European cuisine, fusing with Asian favourites that our Asian guests love best. Together, we will make Tigre de Cristal the shiniest gem in North Asia yet to be uncovered.

Geopolitically, I am pleased to see that the Russian and the Chinese governments continue to maintain sublime business relationships – the Belt and Road Initiative, the Siberia Gas Pipeline Project, the Eurasian High-Speed Railway as well as the Russian government’s direction to set up Vladivostok as the Northeast Asian hub, all of these have created unprecedented favourable business environment for Summit Ascent. Through unfaltering commitment to develop future phases of Tigre de Cristal, we fully endorse the Russian government’s ambition to create an iconic tourist destination in the Far East whilst creating thousands of new jobs in the region.

I am also thrilled to introduce the opportunity for Summit Ascent to diversify and participate in the development of another fast-growing gaming jurisdiction in Asia, through the investment of convertible bonds in a 51%-owned subsidiary of Suncity, Suntrust Home Developers, Inc. (“SunTrust”), where Summit Ascent may have the option to become a direct shareholder of SunTrust when the Westside City Project in the Philippines comes to fruition. Westside City Project will be the unequalled integrated resort in Manila in terms of its design, scale and connectivity throughout the entire Entertainment City. Tigre de Cristal in North Asia, together with Suncity’s other strategic investments in integrated resorts in South and Southeast Asia, form a portfolio of integrated resorts in alliance. All eyes await when the international borders may reopen, as I am confident that with Suncity chipping in, Tigre de Cristal will leap like a tiger and dazzle a crystal in the near future.

Finally, I would like to extend my gratitude to our Russian team, our Hong Kong team, our directors, our staff, our shareholders, our suppliers, our investment partners and our customers for going through a tough 2020. We are prepared to ride the tide together, forging ahead for many more years to come.

Mr. Alvin Chau Cheok Wa

Chairman

SUMMIT ASCENT HOLDINGS LIMITED

Hong Kong, 23 March 2021

Market Review

In Russia, the Russian Federal Government stopped all tourist arrivals from 16 March 2020[1] with limited international flights resumed only until July. The issuance of tourist visas, including visas in the form of an electronic document, has also been temporarily suspended. Until December, borders were open to only 14 countries. All non-essential businesses were mandated to close from 28 March 2020 and were allowed to be reopened gradually later. Russia’s GDP declined by 3.1%[2] year-on-year in 2020. Net inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI) was US$1.4 billion in 2020, down 95% year-on-year. In 2020, total tourism arrivals in Primorye decreased 86% year-on-year to 132,228[3]. The Russian Federation has begun COVID-19 vaccinations in Moscow in December 2020, and has already approved mass use in other cities including Vladivostok, where Tigre de Cristal is located.

Group Financial Results

Revenue and Segment Reporting

The Group operates only in one operating and reportable segment, i.e. the gaming and hotel operations in the IEZ Primorye of the Russian Far East. Almost all non-current assets of the Group are located in the Russian Federation. Accordingly, the Group does not present separate segment information other than entity-wide disclosures.

Revenue of the Group, comprising revenue from gaming operations and hotel operations, was HK$211.2 million in 2020, down 60% compared to HK$532.8 million in 2019. Such decline was primarily due to the temporary suspension of the gaming operations of Tigre de Cristal in the second quarter of 2020 and the number of foreigners visiting our property plummeted after governments of various countries have issued travel restrictions, visa suspensions and quarantine measures for travellers due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Adjusted EBITDA of Tigre de Cristal

Adjusted EBITDA generated by Oriental Regent, a 77.5% owned subsidiary of the Company operating our integrated resort in the Russian Far East, Tigre de Cristal, is used by management as the primary measure of operating performance of our gaming and hotel operations, which is a non-IFRS financial measure and defined by the Company as Earnings Before Interest, Income Tax, Depreciation and Amortization, and excluding Company corporate expenses and the non-cash items such as unrealized exchange differences and fair value gains or losses on financial instruments.

In the first half of 2020, the Group recorded a negative Adjusted EBITDA of HK$22.1 million, mainly due to the temporary suspension of operations of Tigre de Cristal from 28 March 2020. In the second half of 2020, Tigre de Cristal reported a turnaround after its resumption of operations on 16 July 2020 and generated a positive Adjusted EBIDTA of HK$7.4 million, which offsetting partially the negative figure in the first half year and resulting in a negative Adjusted EBITDA of HK$14.7 million for the full year 2020.

Gaming Operations

Tigre de Cristal recorded Gross Gaming Revenue of HK$249.7 million in 2020, down 69% year-on-year. Our Gross Gaming Revenue (“GGR”), represented the amount of money players wagered minus the winning payouts to them, before commissions rebated, discounted or complimentary products and services provided and redeemable points earned under the loyalty programs, consisted of the following:

About Summit Ascent Holdings Limited (HKEx stock code: 102)

Summit Ascent Holdings Limited (“Summit Ascent”) is a subsidiary of Suncity Group Holdings Limited (HKEx stock code: 1383). Summit Ascent holds 77.5% in Tigre de Cristal, currently one of the largest integrated resorts located in the Primorye Integrated Entertainment Zone of the Russian Far East. Situated midway from the Vladivostok International Airport to Vladivostok city, the administrative centre of the Russian Far East, Tigre de Cristal is ideally located geographically in the heart of Northeast Asia.

Summit Ascent holds a gaming license granted by the Russian government for an indefinite period, and Tigre de Cristal has opened for business since late 2015, offering a broad range of gaming options on a 24/7 basis. Tigre de Cristal has been certified as a five-star hotel with retail offerings, food and beverage outlets, private club, and named “Russia’s Leading Resort” by World Travel Awards.

For more information about Summit Ascent, please visit https://www.saholdings.com.hk/eng/

Cushman & Wakefield Releases Interpretation of Real Estate Policies in the 2021 China Government Work Report

BEIJING, CHINA – Media OutReach – 23 March 2021 – Cushman & Wakefield (NYSE: CWK), a leading global real estate services firm today released their China’s Two Sessions 2021: Interpretation of Real Estate Policies in the 2021 Government Work Report paper. Sabrina Wei, Chief Policy Analyst, Cushman & Wakefield, pointed out that key policies in the 2021 Government Work Report will promote the sustained development of the office, retail, logistics and residential markets in China, and help stabilize land prices, housing prices and market expectations from both the supply and demand sides.

Figure 4. Total retail sales of consumer goods in 2020

Figure 6: Residential price trends in major cities, 2015 to 2020 (RMB / sq m)

The TMT industry can be expected to continue to be a backbone of the office leasing market into the future.

The government’s policy support in the fields of science and technology innovation will certainly help drive the development of the office market. Since its accession to the WTO, China has continuously expanded its investment into technology R&D. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics show that China’s expenditure on research and development in 2019 reached RMB2.21 trillion, 3.8 times that of 2009 and 17 times the investment in 2002. In 2020, the number of patent applications from China at the World Intellectual Property Organization numbered 68,720, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, making China the world’s leader for patent applications for two consecutive years.

In Tier 1 cities, the TMT industry has played a central role in the office leasing market over the past five years, with the TMT industry’s share of office leasing in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen in 2016-2020 reaching 36%, 20.3%, 28.3% and 23% respectively. With the continued implementation of policies encouraging research and innovation, the TMT industry can be expected to continue to be a backbone of the office leasing market into the future.

The retail sector will witness a strong rebound and emerging retail property development opportunities.

Integrating the strategy of expanding domestic demand with deepening the supply-side structural reform will promote the development of commercial real estate. The supply-side reform policies implemented in the 13th Five-Year Plan period have achieved their key objectives. The measures of “cutting overcapacity, destocking, deleveraging, reducing costs and improving weak links” have effectively cut excessive production capacities and stocks and diminished enterprise debt.

After the adjustments made in the five years during the 13th Five-Year Plan period, the serious mismatch between consumer demands and market supply was greatly improved. Of the development goals for 2021, “Adhering to the strategic base point of expanding domestic demand and fully exploring the potential of the domestic market” is an important factor towards realizing the economic dual circulation model first introduced by President Xi Jinping. Total retail sales of consumer goods fell significantly in 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19. However, as the pandemic gradually came under control domestically retail sales recovered somewhat, with y-o-y growth returning to positive territory in August 2020 and reaching 4.6% y-o-y by the end of 2020 (Figure 4).

With the pandemic effectively controlled domestically the retail sector is now expected to see a strong rebound in 2021, accompanied by development opportunities for the retail property market. Mall landlords took the opportunity presented by the spike in vacancy during the pandemic period to adjust and upgrade brand mixes and positioning, and sectors such as luxury goods, new energy vehicles, “Guochao” trend homegrown brands (an emerging retail influence incorporating aspects of Chinese style, culture and nostalgia into product design) and on-trend F&B can be expected to demonstrate strong growth in the post-pandemic period, in turn boosting business development opportunities for retail projects.

The development of cross-border e-commerce will drive the development of logistics properties.

Data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) shows that China’s cross-border B2C sales reached US$79 billion in 2017, ranking second after the United States worldwide. However, this figure accounted for just 3.5% of total exports and 7.5% of B2C sales, lower than the global average of 10.7%.

The government work report for 2021 highlights the development of cross-border e-commerce, aiming to realize a high-quality import and export structure, further expand consumption, promote the development and upgrading of an open economy, and create new economic growth points. The development of cross-border e-commerce will undoubtedly boost demand for logistics properties, in turn promoting the development of the industrial and logistics real estate market, especially in regions where import and export trade is the main economic driver.

Table 1. Ranking of global cross-border B2C e-commerce sales

Source: UNCTAD

Continued urbanization will benefit the regional retail property market.

Urbanization will continue to serve as an important driver of stable and long-term economic development in China. The urbanization rate surpassed the 60% milestone in 2019 to reach 60.6%. In the past decade, an average of 17.86 million people has moved from rural areas into China’s cities every year.

The 14th Five-Year Plan does point to an adjustment in strategy, with a lower rate of continuing urbanization to prevail. However, there is still considerable room for growth to achieve the eventual target of a stable urbanization rate of 70%. A likely scenario could still see 16 million people moving to cities every year. Under this premise, city renewal and the planned implementation of inter-provincial urban agglomerations and city clusters will be a key development trend. For the real estate market, the continuing movement of rural populations into cities will increase housing demand and stimulate consumption, in turn benefiting the regional retail real estate market.

For the first time, the government work report proposes to help resolve housing problems experienced by new urban registered citizens and young people in big cities, where subsidized accommodation and homes with common property rights will become the key development initiative. Sustained high residential prices in Tier 1 cities have seriously eroded residents’ spending power or opportunities for business startups. High accommodation costs have specifically impacted new urban residents and younger age groups, diminishing their overall quality of life. In contrast, emerging Tier 2 cities have been becoming increasingly attractive to new college graduates and young talent in recent years, drawn by stable housing prices and lower living costs. In 2020, new home prices in Chengdu and Wuhan were less than 30% of those in Shanghai and Shenzhen. Prices in Nanjing were around 50% of those in Shanghai and Shenzhen (Figure 6). In order to tackle the housing problem faced by new urban citizens and young people in big cities, the government is expected to supply more leasable housing in areas where demand is concentrated. The development of the leasing market is expected to focus more on the expansion of accommodation available for long-term leasing, with the government implementing supportive fiscal and financial policies.

Sabrina Wei, Chief Policy Analyst of Cushman & Wakefield said: “Twenty twenty-one is the first year of the 14th Five-Year Plan, and it is also when the foundations for China’s economic and social development for the next five years will be laid. The key policies in the Plan will be implemented this year, with the roll-out of measures and actions gradually commencing. We expect that the central objectives of the Plan – strengthening science and technology sectors, fully exploring the consumption potential of the domestic market, developing cross-border e-commerce, maintaining the principle that homes are not for speculation, developing the long-term housing leasing market, and effectively addressing the accommodation needs of new urban residents and young people – will significantly influence the sustained development of the office, retail, logistics and residential markets in China.”

Please click here to download the report

About Cushman & Wakefield

Cushman & Wakefield (NYSE: CWK) is a leading global real estate services firm that delivers exceptional value for real estate occupiers and owners. Cushman & Wakefield is among the largest real estate services firms with approximately 53,000 employees in 400 offices and 60 countries. Across Greater China, 22 offices are servicing the local market. The company won four of the top awards in the Euromoney Survey 2017, 2018 and 2020 in the categories of Overall, Agency Letting/Sales, Valuation and Research in China. In 2019, the firm had revenue of $ 8.8 billion across core services of property, facilities and project management, leasing, capital markets, valuation and other services. To learn more, visit www.cushmanwakefield.com or follow @CushWake on Twitter.

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 23 March 2021 – GP Industries Limited (“GP Industries”) is pleased to announce that its major wholly-owned subsidiary, GP Batteries International Limited (“GP Batteries”) has earned Gold Zero Waste to Landfill (ZWTL) Validation from UL for its manufacturing facility located in Tebrau, Malaysia, making it the first plant in the country to earn gold level validation. The plant has achieved a 96% diversion rate with 4% thermal processing and energy recovery and it is the third GP Batteries plant in Malaysia to earn the ZWTL Validation. The achievement of UL ZWTL Validation for all plants in Malaysia represents yet another milestone for GP Batteries and its commitment to advance its sustainability performance.

In 2020, GP Batteries earned Silver ZWTL Validation for three facilities in the Asia Pacific region. Since then, it has continued to increase waste diversion in those plants, improving its year-over-year performance. GP Batteries’ Tebrau plant is the first plant in Malaysia to earn the Gold ZWTL Validation, meeting the requirement of waste diversion levels of 95%–99%. Based on lessons learned during the waste diversion validation process that took place at their other plants, GP Batteries was able to implement best practices and process improvements at the Tebrau plant that helped increase waste diversion and achieve the gold level validation.

GP Batteries’ project teams in Malaysia and China are dedicated to the Zero Waste To Landfill initiative and despite unique challenges in each location, GP Batteries has worked with UL to continue to advance its ZWTL efforts and hope more facilities can achieve the validation.

President of GP Batteries, Victor Chong commented, “Sustainability has always been one of our major focuses in developing products and manufacturing capabilities. The achievement of Gold Validation for our newest plant in Malaysia demonstrates our commitment in waste reduction. We are proud that our efforts have enabled us to achieve greater waste diversion rates thus further advancing our sustainability performance.”

“GP Batteries’ achievement of Gold ZWTL Validation for its newest plant in Malaysia, combined with its continued improvement of waste diversion performance in its other three plants, demonstrates its ongoing commitment to improving sustainability performance,” said Doug Lockard, Vice President and General Manager, Retail and Consumer Products, UL.

About GP Industries

Listed in Singapore since 1995, GP Industries Limited (“GP Industries”) is the main industrial investment vehicle of Gold Peak. It is an international manufacturing and marketing group comprising batteries and electronics businesses.

In addition to its investments in GP Batteries International Limited, GP Industries is also engaged in the development, manufacture and marketing of electronics and acoustics products. To learn more about the company, please visit GP Industries’ website at www.gp-industries.com

About Gold Peak

Gold Peak Group is an Asian multinational group which owns high-quality industrial investments via GP Industries Limited, its major industrial investment vehicle. The Group has built renowned brand names for its major product categories, such as GP batteries, KEF premium consumer speakers and CELESTION professional speaker drivers.

The parent company, Gold Peak Industries (Holdings) Limited (“Gold Peak”, stock code: 40), was established in 1964 and has been listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong since 1984. Currently, Gold Peak holds an approximately 85.5%* interest in GP Industries which is publicly listed in Singapore.

Gold Peak Group has manufacturing, research and development, marketing and distribution operations in more than ten countries around the world.

To learn more about the company, please visit Gold Peak’s website at www.goldpeak.com

( * shareholding % as at 23 March 2021)

AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS – EQS Newswire – 23 March 2021 – Further to the notice released on 16 February 2021 pursuant to which (i) a Proposal, (ii) a first addendum to and amendment of the Proposal (“First Addendum“) and (iii) the Proposal as amended by the First Addendum (“First Amended Proposal“) were made available, notice is hereby given to inter alia certain creditors (“Scheme Creditors“) of Steinhoff International Holdings Proprietary Limited (the “Company“), of a second addendum to and amendment of the First Amended Proposal (the “Second Addendum“) and of the availability of (i) the Second Addendum and (ii) the First Amended Proposal as amended by the Second Addendum, together with the annexures thereto (the “Amended Proposal“).

1 ACCESSING THE SECOND ADDENDUM AND THE AMENDED PROPOSAL

The Second Addendum and the Amended Proposal and its annexures are available at www.SteinhoffSettlement.com, www.steinhoffinternational.com and by completing a request form from the Registrar of the High Court of South Africa, Western Cape Division, Cape Town.

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The rise of a new industry owing to the UK house purchasing trend

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 23 March 2021 – Different from other agents, BNOOK Property Limited (BNOOK) does not only source properties for clients, but also follow-up all the search documentations as well as surveyor reports, handling and advising any critical matters that possibly happen in purchasing a property. No matter for clients planning to relocation or buy-to-let, the whole BNOOK team assists all buyers from the beginning to completion, walking through all this uneasy UK property purchase journey with clients.

As a registered company in both HK and UK, BNOOK specializes in searching for second-hand brick and block properties. The service locations cover from the South (such as Southampton) to the North (Scotland). BNOOK is a Property Consultant who almost covers the largest number of areas in the UK.

Top 10 potential risks when purchasing UK properties

Everyone especially for the Hong Kong (overseas) buyers seem to be fancy about properties in the United Kingdom lately. Some of them aim at investing for stable cashflow returns; while some of them are for living because of relocation to the UK. The new demand leads the rise of a new industry. Nowadays, there are people claimed to be Property Sourcing Agents. However, some of them are one-man-band; while some do not even own a company, but are helping Hong Kong people to do “viewings” only as part-time “viewers”.

Below are the top 10 potential risks that overseas buyers must pay attention to. These are gathered by BNOOK which is founded by a group of experienced UK property investors. BNOOK reminds all overseas buyers should carefully select a reliable UK Property Consultant who helps to avoid all these traps.

1) New-built property, Property under construction, Second-hand property, Auction House, Retirement House, etc. There is a huge variety of UK properties.

It’s not like all the apartments in HK, there is a huge variety of UK properties. For example, an “Auction House” is immediately exchanged (must be completed) once the buyer wins the bid, even though there are any defects after reviewing the Home Buyer Report. BNOOK provides due diligence service of filtering all these properties for clients and to make sure that there are no tricks before recommending and putting offers.

2) Title and ownership are not just a fine line in between

In the United Kingdom, purchasing a house is usually with the land. Some of them are Freehold, Leasehold or even Shared Ownership. There was a case happened to one Hong Kong buyer who was originally looking for a Freehold property, unfortunately the previous owner had ceded certain part(s) of the territory for building one another house and sold it for profit. Eventually the buyer had lost the part of the territory. Therefore, an experienced Solicitor / Conveyancer as well as a Property Consultant (but not the part-time Sourcing Agent) who are proficient in UK properties would be helpful to the buyers to figure out and advise whether the property is worth purchasing at no risk.

3) The complexity of a Home Buyer Report

A full Home Buyer Report is conducted by a professional Surveyor. The report contained more than 30 pages that listed the conditions of structural problems, any signs of damping, any potential risk of asbestos, and all of these conditions will be labelled with 3 levels of urgency. The report is explained with many technical terms and jargons that are not easily understood merely by a “Google Translate” tool. BNOOK’s service includes reviewing and analysing the details of the report, help judging whether this property is worth purchasing, and these are more than just a “property seller” can handle.

4) The solicitor disappears or neglection after engagement

In terms of working attitude, there is a cultural difference between Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. The former one used to be fast-responding, efficient, and more flexibility in work; while the latter one is rather following the prescribed route and not to be too aggressive. There was a case of client’s previous experience before reaching BNOOK Property Limited – there was no news in 2-3 months after engaging the solicitor, and it was found that the solicitor did not even started any searches after the mortgage has been offered. As a result, the seller was not willing to wait anymore and terminated the sale. What the client had lost was not only the time, but also the surveyor fee of that property as well as the solicitor deposit. Hence, choosing the reliable solicitor is critical. One of BNOOK’s services is to recommend the reliable solicitors with reasonable price that could contribute in completing the property smoothly.

5) Earning stable and high salary does not necessarily mean that the mortgage application will be successful

Unlike HK, there is no so-called “stress-testing” in the UK. Earning high annual salary and stable employment may also result in a failure in mortgage application because of the applicants’ large amount of spending and private loan. Each bank has its own formula of calculation. Mortgage brokers are here to explain to the applicants on the requirements of the lender, and select the most suitable lender based on the applicants’ financial situation. It is always recommended to declare all the items that are required. The case might still be disapproved even though the Approval in Principle has been obtained. BNOOK refers experienced mortgage broker with large bank network which can help finishing the property purchase.

6) There is a “chain” on the property that delays a property completion

BNOOK has handled a real case: A client entered the UK via LOTR in September last year. They stayed in an Airbnb and in the meanwhile, they searched for houses by themselves which they thought would be at lower risk. However, 2 months after they have put an offer and proceeded the legal works, the seller kept rejecting the inspection appointment from the Surveyor. Finally, they discovered that there was a “chain” of buying this property because the seller had still not started buying his new property. Turned-out they had to move to another Airbnb for 3 times in total before they had their own property. They did not have an official proof of address for applying school for their children. Eventually, they contacted BNOOK which helped them to get a very lovely house with no chain, introduced a reliable and fast-responding solicitor, and followed up tightly on the schedule. During the purchase, BNOOK reviewed all the reports, arranged the exchange and completion. As a result, the property was completed in 1.5 month which was definitely the fastest case that have ever seen. Now the client had already moved-in and the children are attending school. At the most critical moment, a team of professional Property Consultant plays the most important role.

7) The ideal school and the house are very near, but they are from two different councils

Although catchment area is important when applying for school, only 0.1 – 0.3mile distance from the ideal school to the property does not guarantee a school offer. If the council of the property is not clarified, there may even has no eligibility to apply for the school just because they are not in the same council. Having a completed due diligence work to avoid such low-level mistake is the basis criteria of BNOOK as a professional Property Consultant.

8) Be aware of the high-flood-risk property

Some dishonest (or unexperienced) agents promoted some properties with high flood risk to Hong Kong people. As everyone knows, weather in the UK is always unpredictable and raining is common. Apart from inconvenience, the most concerned point is actually whether the insurance company would cover it, and if the insurance company does not cover the high-flood risk property, there may not be able to get any mortgage approval. The due diligence service of BNOOK can be able to acknowledge all these potential risk in advance so as to reduce the clients’ potential risk.

9) The selling price is too aggressive

There is a difference in property market from HK and the UK. In Hong Kong, seller is used to place a higher price for the buyer to negotiate; in the opposite, in the United Kingdom, seller is always placing a guide price for all buyers to bid, and usually the buyer who placed the highest price got the offer. To be honest, this practice made the Hong Kong buyers quite anxious because they never know what is a reasonable bidding price. Of course, the seller will reject a price that is far below their expectation; but the buyer will never want to offer a price higher than the market value. BNOOK helps evaluating the marketing value of the property, listing all necessary expenditures of buying the property, addressing the potential risks, investigating and setting up an optimal ceiling price with the buyer and making offer to the seller agent. The advantage of setting up the ceiling price help control the budget and not to push up the market.

10) A mixed-population does not equal to high crime rate of the district?

United Kingdom itself is a diversifying country where people are from all over the world, such as European, Asian, Indian, Middle Eastern, Jewish, etc. A community with a mixed-population does not definitely equal to high crime rate. Talking about Reading where is located in the Southern part of England as an example, many international companies set up their headquarters here, and thus there are many people from different countries relocated to this beauty place. They are young, lively, educated and polite as we can see. Immigrant who wants to integrate into the UK and start a new life more easily, it’s also a good choice to stay in a community with mixed-population. Therefore, looking only into the figure of crime rate is always more representable than looking on the data of culture diversification when choosing the location to settle. The team of BNOOK who are based in the UK can reduce the risk of remote purchase, having physical visit to the place for client. This can be done by live time conference and video, feeling the environment and security level of each district.

In a nutshell, purchasing UK second-hand property is not as difficult as imagine, but there are many hidden details that requires professional advice and follow up. When it comes to a trend of purchasing UK properties, it is always recommended to select the Property Consultant who are experienced in second-hand brick and block houses rather than the general property seller. The former one provides professional advice, follows up with the who purchase procedure until the property is exchanged and completed; while the latter one (especially for those part-time viewers who may not completely familiar with purchasing second-hand property) requires the clients to handle all the documentations and communications by the themselves.

Founders of BNOOK Property Limited are a group of experienced UK property investors located in the UK. Any property that they recommend to clients are up-to-the-standard of what they would also live or invest, while the buyers will be well-prepared and rest assured by advising every step and any risk of purchasing UK properties.

Understanding BNOOK Property Limited in 3 minutes: https://youtu.be/GfufaIIZziI

Company Website

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