AH-Reit gets nod for bulk of $32m claim against defunct hotel operator

Landlord allowed to claim sum for unpaid rent, other charges from Park Hotel CQ

- Grace Leong

Ascendas Hospitality Reit (AH-Reit), the landlord of the former Park Hotel Clarke Quay property in Unity Street, was allowed to claim the bulk of a $32.1 million sum for unpaid rent and other charges against the defunct former operator Park Hotel CQ (PHCQ) under a High Court ruling on May 23.

High Court Justice Audrey Lim reduced AH-Reit's proof of debt to $31.1 million, after excluding $273,792 in property tax from Oct 1, 2022, to June 27, 2023, and costs totalling $679,454.

PHCQ was wound up by the High Court on Nov 19, 2021. This came after AH-Reit terminated its master lease with PHCQ on Aug 28, 2021, and took possession of the property after the hotel operator failed to pay $5.92 million in debt.

The hotel was then renamed Riverside Hotel Robertson Quay after CapitaLand unit Ascott International Management (AIMPL) took over from August 2021 to September 2022.

It was subsequently rebranded as The Robertson House by The Crest Collection, which opened in October 2023.

The $32.1 million claim comprises unpaid rent by PHCQ, charges payable during the handover of the property, property tax and other costs. About $25 million of the claim was disputed by another PHCQ creditor, Park Hotel Group Management (PHGM).

PHGM is owned by British Virgin Islands-incorporated Good Movement Holdings which is, in turn, owned by Mr Allen Law Ching Hung, the son of Hong Kong-based billionaire Law Kar Po.

Mr Allen Law was also the sole director and chief executive of PHCQ from April 3, 2013, until March 16, 2021, when he stepped down.