About Wee Hur Holdings Ltd

Wee Hur Holdings: 45 Years of Building Singapore, Investing for Tomorrow

Founded in 1980 by four siblings: Goh Yeow Lian, Goh Yeo Hwa, Goh Yew Tee, Goh Yeu Toh and two in-laws: Sua Nam Heng and Cheng Kiang Huat, Wee Hur began as a contractor helping to shape the nation’s skyline. From residential, industrial, commercial to institutional buildings, the company established its name as a trusted builder. Over four decades, guided by prudence and a relentless pursuit of excellence, Wee Hur has become one of the most trusted names in the built environment. The same diligence-plus-discipline remains the bedrock of the company, that now has diversified businesses that span across Singapore, Australia and beyond.

Innovating From Concrete to Capital Platforms

Wee Hur’s journey mirrors Singapore’s own. Its longevity stems from its ability to identify opportunities and act purposefully. Construction successes since 1980 spurred the company to list on the main board of the Singapore stock exchange in 2008. The following year, Wee Hur ventured into property development, delivering significant projects and growing its balance sheet. To address structural undersupply in the alternative accommodation sector, Wee Hur built assets that catered to foreign construction workers in Singapore and ventured abroad to develop student accommodation in Australia. Apart from developing one of Singapore’s largest workers dormitory portfolios in Singapore, Wee Hur entered the Australian student accommodation market at its infancy stage ahead of global institutions. The over 6,000-bed student accommodation portfolio drew participation from sovereign wealth and institutional investors. Investing early in these asset classes and building resilient income generating portfolios have since become core pillars of Wee Hur’s businesses. These track records demonstrate Wee Hur’s ability to originate, operate, institutionalise and monetise, without losing its values-led compass.

While Wee Hur’s heritage remains in the real estate built environment, the company has expanded into real estate fund management and alternative investments such as private equity, private credit and venture capital. As a multi-asset investment house, these complementary businesses give institutional and family office investors exposure to real assets, operational platforms and emerging technologies. Through every step of journey, Wee Hur’s trademark sequence is to: see early, build right, scale prudently and invite partners.

1980
2008
2009
2013
2014
2016
2017
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024

1980

Wee Hur was founded

The history of the Group dates back to 1980 when Mr Goh Yeow Lian, our Executive Chairman and Managing Director established ‘Wee Hur Construction Co’ with his brothers, Mr Goh Yeu Toh, Mr Goh Yeo Hwa, Mr Goh Yew Tee and brothers-in-law, Mr Sua Nam Heng and Mr Cheng Kiang Huat. The partnership company was subsequently incorporated as Wee Hur Construction Pte Ltd (“WHC”) in 1988 to cater to its growing business.

Through the years, WHC grew from strength to strength, handling construction projects of higher values and greater diversity and complexity. Completed projects include residential, institutional, industrial, office, hotel, shopping mall, religious, heritage and conservation buildings.

WHC is a BCA (Building and Construction Authority) registered contractor with A1 financial status which allows us to tender building projects of unlimited value. Our clients come from both the public and private sector.

2008

Listed on Singapore Exchange Main Board

In mid January 2008, the company underwent a restructuring exercise where Wee Hur Construction Pte Ltd became a wholly owned subsidiary of Wee Hur Holdings Ltd which was later listed on Singapore Exchange Mainboard on 30 January 2008.

2009

Ventured into Property Development

In order to enhance shareholders’ value after listing, we explored various business opportunities besides organic growth of our construction business. We decided to venture into property development as a natural progress up the value chain and obtained shareholders’ mandate in May 2009. Wee Hur Development Pte Ltd, the property development arm of the Group, was incorporated in June 2009.

We kickstarted our foray into property development with a 469-units strata titled industrial development, Harvest@Woodlands, in July 2009 through Government Land Sale (“GLS”) tender. In 2010, we secured another GLS site for a larger scale strata titled industrial development, Premier@Kaki Bukit. We have also completed a sizeable residential development, Parc Centros,  which comprises 618 dwelling units in Punggol and two other boutique residential developments, Villas@Gilstead and Urban Residences

Current development for sale, Mega@Woodlands, 517-units strata titled industrial development along Woodlands Avenue 12 was completed in 2018 and Parc Botannia, 735-units strata titled condominium at Fernvale was fully sold as at 31 March 2020 based on the option to purchase issued.

On 15 January 2020, we have secured a new land parcel at Jalan Bunga Rampai which can yield an estimated 115 residential units.

2013

Ventured into Worker Dormitory

We started our first investment property in 2013 by developing a large-scale purpose-built workers’ dormitory, Tuas View Dormitory, at Tuas South Avenue One. The dormitory has the capacity to house 16,800 workers for all industries. In September 2019, we secured another new land parcel at Soon Lee Road, Jurong to develop a 10,500-bed workers’ dormitory which will house mainly construction workers.

2014

Beyond Singapore by establishing Overseas Property Development and Investment Business

In December 2014, we acquired three parcels of land totalling 1.69 hectares in Brisbane, Australia for A$56.5 million, marking the Group’s first foray into property development in Australia. These lands are located at Woolloongabba, a suburb located in Brisbane, Australia.

We have developed one of the three parcels of land (Plot 1) into Australia’s largest single-phase purpose-built student accommodation (“PBSA”) housing 1,578 beds in two buildings. Complete with ten commercial tenancies for shops and restaurants on the ground level and an expansive student communal area at the podium level. We have seeded this asset to Wee Hur PBSA Master Trust in June 2017. This PBSA, named UniLodge Park Central, was completed in 2018 and we have welcomed our first batch of residents since 2 July 2018.

Currently we are also exploring development options for Park Central – the biggest parcel (Plot 2) – for a mixed-use development comprising mainly residential units and sizable commercial spaces. The smallest parcel (Plot 3) was sold in 2020.

In end-March 2016, we have acquired a commercial office building near King George Square Station in the central business district of Brisbane. This property was sold in 2018 for a gain of $6.5 million.

2016

Embarked on a new growth platform – setting up Australia focused Purpose Built Student Accommodation Master Trust

In Dec 2016, Wee Hur PBSA Master Trust was constituted  with the objective to build a portfolio of over 5,000 beds of PBSA in major cities of Australia over the next five years.

Our business model is to buy lands, develop and operate. So far, besides the seeding property in Brisbane, we have purchased another 6 parcels of land –  two in Adelaide, one in Melbourne, two in Sydney and one in Canberra which will yield approximately 5,700 beds of PBSA.

Our 1st PBSA, Unilodge Park Central, commenced operations in July 2018 in Brisbane, while our 2nd PBSA, UniLodge City Gardens, commenced operations in July 2019 in Adelaide. The rest of the PBSAs are at different stages of development and are expected to be ready for occupation by 2022

2017

Set up Fund Management company

We set up Wee Hur Capital Pte Ltd as the Trust manager for Wee Hur PBSA Master Trust. We aim to develop the fund management business as another growth platform.

2020

Set up PBSA operating arm and launch of Y Suites

As part of the strategy for our PBSA business, we set up Wee Hur Hospitality Pte Ltd to develop our own brand for the operational management of PBSA assets.

Y Suites as the brand for PBSA was launched in October 2020.

All PBSA properties developed by Wee Hur will be progressively operated under Y Suites. The first property to be operating under Y Suites is Y Suites on Waymouth at 124 Waymouth Street. It is Wee Hur’s 2nd PBSA in Adelaide with 811 beds. Y Suites on Waymouth is scheduled to be operational in July 2021.

Y Suites will be partnering with Unilodge, a reputable operator of PBSA in Australia with the largest number of beds under management. Under this white-label arrangement, Y Suites is the strategic brand driver for marketing, sales and reservations while UniLodge is appointed as the property manager.

2021

Established alternative investment business – private equity, private credit and venture capital investments

Venture capital investment is a business set up by the Group in FY2021, undertaken through our wholly-owned subsidiary, KK39 Ventures Pte Ltd (KK39). The initiative seeks to deploy a measured portion of the Group’s capital into venture capital funds and direct startup investments.

KK39 serves as the Group’s optionality engine – acting as a radar to spot early-stage trends and talent, a bridge to forge networks across private markets, and a catalyst that transforms access and ideas into long-term value. Beyond capital deployment, KK39 is positioned as a long-term investment and insight platform for the Group, enabling us to build strategic perspectives on emerging industries and innovation opportunities.

To date, we have invested in five venture capital funds and five startup companies across various growth stages, providing the Group with both exposure to innovation and valuable insights into evolving business landscapes.

2022

1st billion dollar transaction of student accommodation portfolio to Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, GIC

On 22 April 2022, the Group announced the disposal of a 49.9% stake held by the Company and other investors in Wee Hur PBSA Master Trust  (“Fund I”) to Reco Weather Private Limited which is part of the GIC group.

2023

Ventured into greenfield land subdivision development in Australia

The Group expanded into greenfield land subdivision development in Australia to diversify our portfolio and tap into future market opportunities. With Australia’s population growth, strong migration, and ongoing housing supply-demand imbalance, residential land subdivisions are expected to remain in high demand. This venture positions the Group to capture long-term value while creating sustainable, well-planned communities that cater to evolving housing needs.

2024

2nd billion dollar transaction of student accommodation portfolio to global institutional investor, Greystar

On 16 December 2024, the Group announced the disposal of all PBSA properties under the Wee Hur PBSA Master Trust (“Fund I”) to GS Australia Student Venture I Mid Trust, a part of Greystar Real Estate Partners LLC (“Greystar”), for a gross selling price of A$1.6 billion. While the transaction marked a successful divestment of Fund I’s portfolio, the Group retained a 13% stake in the portfolio, allowing continued exposure to the sector’s long-term income and growth potential.