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Taste Orchard landlord OG has terminated its 7.5-year lease agreement with master tenant Hao Mart, less than two years after the food-focused mall opened, The Business Times has learnt.   Hao Mart and its tenants must now vacate and hand over the premises by Dec 31.   The lease agreement covered all five levels of the former OG Orchard Point building, located at 160 Orchard Road.   The building reopened as Taste Orchard in February 2024, with anchor tenant and supermarket chain Eccellente by Hao Mart occupying three levels.   Touted as a culinary and shopping haven, the mall’s first two levels featured food and beverage (F&B) offerings, while the next two floors comprised mostly service providers such as education centres, salons, aesthetics clinics and a spin studio.   https://youtu.be/Z9_JWQeR_2c Five Taste Orchard tenants – who spoke to BT on the condition of anonymity – said they were informed of the news through physical letters from Hao Mart’s management, dated Sep 12 and delivered that same day.     According to one letter seen by BT, Hao Mart said it was notified by OG that its lease agreement for Taste Orchard had been discontinued. It did not explain why OG was terminating the lease.   As a result, Hao Mart must return the vacant premises by no later than Dec 31, 2025, said the letter.   Tenants were requested to vacate and hand their units over “in the same condition and state” as at the start of their tenancy; and to return all locks and keys, together with Hao Mart’s fixtures and fittings, “in good and substantial repair order and condition”, by Dec 31. SEE ALSO     Hao Mart said its management team will reach out to tenants “in the coming week” for further discussions. The letters were personally addressed to tenants and signed off by Jupri Suep, Hao Mart’s senior vice-president of operations.   Touted as a culinary and shopping haven, Taste Orchard’s first two levels featured F&B offerings, including Warabimochi Kamakura, BHC Chicken and Sushiro. PHOTO: PAIGE LIM, BT In response to BT queries, a spokesperson for OG confirmed that the company had issued Hao Mart notices of re-entry and termination of its 7.5-year master lease for Taste Orchard.   “The retail and F&B industries are undergoing a period of profound transformation, shaped by a confluence of economic headwinds, shifting consumer expectations, and a complex regulatory environment,” said the spokesperson. “Hao Mart has not been immune from such challenges.”   OG is working with Hao Mart “to ensure the smooth and orderly vacation” of the premises by year-end, the spokesperson added.   Tenants left in the lurch In July, BT reported on the poor business and low footfall experienced by smaller Taste Orchard tenants, with several vacant units also spotted – some having been empty since the mall’s reopening.   In April, Eccellente downsized, moving out of the mall’s basement. Other initial highlights at the premises, such as a live seafood station and butchery, as well as a community space for cooking classes, did not take off.   Said one tenant: “Even so, I didn’t see this coming. I thought the mall might switch the tenant mix up, not close completely.”   In April, Eccellente downsized, moving out of the mall’s basement. PHOTO: PAIGE LIM, BT Other tenants, who had up to two years left on their leases, said they were similarly blindsided by the news. Some have formed a WhatsApp group chat, with plans to engage lawyers to figure out their legal rights.   One tenant said he had not yet recouped renovation costs of “a few hundreds of thousands of dollars”.   “With the basement shut and the number of vacant units, I had a bad feeling that the mall might not be able to survive,” he said. “My employees are all very worried now.”   Another tenant noted that some businesses had only just entered, such as an Asian minimart that opened on the third floor “just a few days ago”.   “If (the management) knew business was not good and that there was the possibility of early lease termination, why did they still lease out empty units?” he said. “It’s very unreasonable.”   He hopes to get his rental deposit back and be compensated for renovation and relocation costs, on top of the loss of income from business disruption.   From Jun 25, five units at Taste Orchard were listed on real estate website CommercialGuru. This included the 20,000-square-foot basement, which had a rental rate of S$180,000 a month.   But as at Monday (Sep 15), there were no listings of Taste Orchard units online.   Some closures already When BT visited Eccellente over the weekend, baskets that once held fresh produce, along with several shelves and chillers, stood empty. PHOTO: PAIGE LIM, BT BT understands that some F&B brands operated by Hao Mart have already ceased their operations at Taste Orchard.   Hao Mart, a subsidiary of Singapore-based Hao Corp, runs a chain of convenience stores and supermarkets.   BHC Chicken, for which Hao Mart holds the master franchise rights, shut its Taste Orchard outlet on Sunday.   Employees at Wine Mansion – which Hao Mart also operates – and Killiney Kopitiam told BT that their outlets’ last day of operations will be Sep 17.   Noting these immediate closures, one tenant was concerned that the mall might cut off the utilities ahead of the Dec 31 deadline.   “If the mall can open until December, why did (the management) shut BHC Chicken prematurely? I am afraid that they will cut off the air-conditioning, water and electricity. Can our businesses even run until Dec 31?”   Still, when BT visited Taste Orchard over the weekend, it appeared to be business as usual. Eateries on the first floor were packed with diners, with patrons spilling over from an ad hoc trading card and collectibles event in the basement.   But at Eccellente, some chest freezers contained frozen goods that were packed into plastic bags. Baskets that once held fresh produce, along with several shelves and chillers, stood empty.   Hao Mart has been operating at a loss for two years, based on regulatory filings. It had a net loss of S$32.8 million for the financial year ended March 2024, widening from its S$23.2 million loss in 2023. Revenue for the year dipped to S$55.7 million, from S$84.2 million before.

While the details for a possible rebranding or even closure for renovation purposed isn’t known yet, the hotel has already pulled availability for January and beyond. You can access IHG’s pafe for the InterContinental Singapore here. Guests with existing reservations have received a notice from the hotel that while their reservations will remain intact even after the hotel has left the IHG chain, the benefits associated with being Ambassador such as late checkout, points earning, complimentary breakfast, upgrade, and F&B credit, won’t be conferred.   ADVERTISEMENT This might make staying there not really worthwhile if the benefits are essential, which should really be the case for every member. Here is the rate calendar for January 2026 that is now zeroed out: The last day you would be able to stay at the Intercontinental Singapore is New Years Eve, the 31st of December 2025. Rooms are still available for that date if you’re interested. This is the email guests with an existing reservation have received: There are a few other IHG properties in Singapore, but you have to see if these are to your liking. The second IC at Robertson Quay isn’t exactly my cup of tea. And the rates might also be much different, although the IC Bugis wasn’t a cheap hotel by any means either. A reader forwarded us the full email as follows:   ADVERTISEMENT Hotels reflagging isn’t out of the ordinary. We’ve seen a couple of these this year already, for example, the Novotels at Taipei Taoyuan Airport and Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport, both of which became a Hyatt Regency. It’s primarily annoying for elite customers of these hotels because as soon as a property exits a chain, their benefits no longer apply. For random customers, it really doesn’t matter much unless they want to stay at a particular brand no matter what. What’s ahead for the Intercontinental Singapore? Good question At this point, there is no word from the hotel as to their future plans. I really like this property because it has a warm ambience and is a comfortable low-rise building for Singapore standards.   They could maybe use some kind of refubishment, or even a full renovation. For now, based on the wording of the email, the hotel seems to remain open at least for January of 2026. I haven’t heard of anyone’s reservation being cancelled yet. So that means they would either go independent or most likely find another chain to adopt a brand that would be suitable for this hotel. This would fit well into the Marriott Autograph collection, but there are quite a few in Singapore already. A JdV by Hyatt would also be great. Either way, this is very unfortunate for me, I really liked staying here 2-3x per year despite IHG not being one of my main programs. Conclusion The Intercontinental Singapore, a staple of the IHG portfolio in Southeast Asia, will leave the chain on January 1, 2026 and going forward Intercontinental Ambassadors will no longer enjoy their membership benefits, even on confirmed reservations. Of course, you have the right to cancel future reservations that would no longer be with IHG and request refunds if you had a prepaid reservation. If you still plan on using your confirmed reservation, I would compare your existing rate with the newly published rate as soon as the hotel loads a new distribution channel. I can’t imagine this being in some kind of no-man’s land for too long. The hotel needs to keep selling inventory or they’ll eventually sit on a property that has an occupancy rate of 20-30%. So there will most likely be news in the coming months under which name and flag the hotel will operate in the future.

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