Pace Development chief executive Sorapoj Techakraisri said the company will put equal focus on its property and retail business development starting next year. He said the move is designed to strike a balance between the two segments.
He added that Pace would develop one or two condo projects worth a combined THB10 billion a year while continuing to expand its Dean & DeLuca franchise and other ventures. The company hopes net profit are split equally between property development for sales and other businesses, including Dean & DeLuca.
“Balancing property and non-property will help make the company’s revenue more consistent,” Sorapoj said. Pace is negotiating a deal to purchase two plots of land in Bangkok that the company will use to launch a new condo project sometime next year.
“Our focus on residential development is only on luxury projects for which demand is quite limited,” he stated. “To keep the company expanding, we need to have non-property business. The Dean & DeLuca acquisition last year will help us achieve that.”
The launch of the super-luxury condo project Nimit Langsuan brought high expenses with it and has hindered Pace’s bottom line this year. The 53-storey development on Lang Suan Road is worth THB7.5 billion baht and recently sold out. Next year is expected to be better for the business as unit transfers of the Ritz-Carlton Residences at MahaNakhon will get underway. The project is 70 percent sold and should earn Pace THB10 billion in when transfers are completed.
The luxury villas at MahaSamutr Country Club & Luxury Villas in Hua Hin will also account for some of the company’s revenue next year. The project is slated for an official launch sometime in the first half of 2016.
“The economy next year will not decline further from today as many factors seem positive and we are quite confident about the government’s new economic team,” Sorapoj noted.