City Developments Limited (SGX:C09) Stock: 2026 Outlook After London Hotel Deal, Heavy Asset Sales and Analyst Upgrades

Data and prices accurate as of the morning of 8 December 2025 (Singapore time). This article is for information only and is not investment advice.

Share price snapshot on 8 December 2025

City Developments Limited (CDL), one of Singapore’s largest listed property groups, is ending 2025 in rerating mode.

On the morning of 8 December 2025, CDL shares were trading around S$7.19–S$7.25, down modestly intraday but still near their 52‑week high of S$7.54. Over the past year, the stock has gained roughly 35–40%, materially outperforming the Straits Times Index. ^[1]

Key snapshot metrics as of 8 December 2025 include: ^[2]

Market cap: ~S$6.5 billion
12‑month revenue (ttm): ~S$3.4 billion
Net income (ttm): ~S$195 million
Trailing P/E: ~33x
Forward P/E: ~22–23x (based on analyst estimates)
Dividend (trailing 12 months): ~S$0.11 per share, yield ~1.5%

CDL is thus trading more like a capital‑growth developer with a modest yield, rather than a high‑dividend property stock.

2025 financial performance: growth, FX drag and special dividend

CDL’s latest full financial snapshot is 1H 2025, released on 13 August 2025. For the six months to 30 June 2025, the group reported: ^[3]

Revenue: S$1.69 billion (up 8% year‑on‑year from S$1.56 billion)
PATMI (net profit): S$91.2 million (up 3.9% year‑on‑year)
Profit before tax: S$139.9 million (down 10% year‑on‑year)

The main story: operationally stronger, optically weaker.

Property development revenue grew 24.3% year‑on‑year, driven by Singapore projects such as The Myst, Norwood Grand, Union Square Residences and joint‑venture projects like The Orie and Kassia. ^[4]
Underlying profitability was pulled down by S$63.1 million of net foreign exchange losses, mainly from US‑dollar intercompany loans used to fund earlier US hotel acquisitions. Excluding FX swings, management says PATMI would have more than tripled to about S$154 million. ^[5]
The hotel operations segment posted a pre‑tax loss of S$84.4 million in 1H 2025, reflecting FX losses, inflationary pressure and weaker performance in Singapore and some US assets, despite improving RevPAR in Australasia and Europe. ^[6]

CDL continued to emphasise capital strength:

Cash reserves: ~S$1.8 billion; total cash plus undrawn committed facilities ~S$3.5 billion
Net gearing (including fair value uplift on investment properties): ~70% (vs 69% at FY 2024)
Average borrowing cost: 4.0% (down from 4.4% in FY 2024), reflecting rate cuts in some markets. ^[7]

To reward shareholders, the board declared a special interim dividend of S$0.03 per share for 1H 2025, on top of ordinary payouts. ^[8]

Dividend data from SGX‑linked platform Beansprout show: ^[9]

Actual DPS of S$0.12 in 2023 and S$0.10 in 2024
Consensus forecast DPS of S$0.08 for 2025, implying a forward yield of around 1.1% at current prices

That leaves CDL squarely in the “NAV‑discount and growth” camp rather than a yield play.

Q3 2025 operational update: softer quarter, strong nine months

On 17 November 2025, CDL released an operational update for Q3 2025 – the key data point investors were digesting heading into December. ^[10]

Singapore residential

In Q3 2025, CDL and its joint‑venture associates sold 88 units with a total sales value of S$313.2 million, a sharp drop from 321 units and S$611.1 million in Q3 2024.
Management attributed this mainly to timing – there were no major new launches in Q3 2025, whereas Q3 2024 was boosted by the Kassia launch. ^[11]

However, looking at the nine‑month picture:

For 9M 2025, the group sold 990 units in Singapore with a total sales value of about S$2.5 billion, up from 905 units and S$1.8 billion in 9M 2024. ^[12]
Strong contributions came from The Orie (777‑unit JV project at Toa Payoh, ~94% sold) and other mass‑market launches. ^[13]

The headline drop in Q3 sales value spooked the market briefly, but most broker commentary now frames it as a temporary lull rather than a structural demand problem.

Zyon Grand launch and landbank

The update and subsequent broker reports highlight an increasingly muscular pipeline: ^[14]

Zyon Grand (706‑unit JV with Mitsui Fudosan): launched in October 2025 and sold about 84% of units (590 units) on its opening weekend, at an average price around S$3,050 per square foot – above many analysts’ expectations.
CDL successfully tendered for three Government Land Sales (GLS) sites in 2025 – Lakeside Drive (Jurong) and two executive condominium (EC) sites at Woodlands Drive 17 and Senja Close – adding over 2,200 units to its future launch pipeline.

Overall, CDL now has a Singapore residential launch pipeline of roughly 2,200–2,300 units, anchored by well‑located mass‑market and EC projects. ^[15]

Investment properties and “living” portfolio

The same Q3 update shows resilient recurring income: ^[16]

Singapore offices: committed occupancy of 97.3%, well above the island‑wide average of 88.8%.
Singapore retail: committed occupancy of 96.9%, vs island‑wide 93.1%; City Square Mall reached 98% occupancy after its asset enhancement programme.
UK commercial assets: leasing momentum improved, with occupancy at 125 Old Broad Street rising and Aldgate House expected to hit nearly 98% as leases under offer complete.

The group’s “living sector” – private rented sector (PRS) and student accommodation – also showed high occupancy:

Japan PRS portfolio (40 assets, 2,246 units) maintained occupancy above 95%.
UK PRS assets like The Junction in Leeds reached around 90% occupancy, with more units completing in 2026.
UK student accommodation portfolio stood at about 82–90% occupancy for the 2025/26 academic year, depending on property. ^[17]

Hotels: Asia soft, Europe and Australasia firmer

For 9M 2025, global hotel RevPAR (revenue per available room) dipped 0.3% year‑on‑year to S$165.8, dragged down mainly by Asia: ^[18]

Singapore hotels saw RevPAR fall 10.6%, reflecting a high comparison base (major events and concerts in 2024) and the shift of the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix from Q3 2024 to Q4 2025.
The rest of Asia also weakened, partly due to M Social Resort Penang’s ramp‑up phase.
This was offset by 10.7% RevPAR growth in the rest of the UK and Europe, aided by the Hilton Paris Opéra acquisition in 2024, and double‑digit RevPAR growth in Australasia.

Hotel margins in Asia and the US were under pressure from lower occupancy and higher operating costs, but stronger European and Australasian performance, plus strategic divestments, are gradually reshaping the portfolio towards more resilient, prime assets. ^[19]

Capital recycling drive: South Beach, Osaka, Sunnyvale and more

One of the defining themes of CDL’s 2025 story is aggressive capital recycling.

From 1H 2025 disclosures and subsequent updates: ^[20]

By mid‑August, CDL had already secured over S$1.5 billion of contracted divestments.
A key highlight was the sale of its 50.1% stake in the South Beach integrated development in Singapore, at a 100% property value of about S$2.75 billion, delivering an estimated disposal gain of roughly S$465 million.
Other notable disposals include:
- Bespoke Hotel Osaka Shinsaibashi in Japan, agreed sale price JPY 14 billion (~S$117 million), crystallising a gain after its 2023 purchase. ^[21]
- 1250 Lakeside, Sunnyvale (US multifamily asset) sold for roughly US$143.5 million (~S$187 million). TechStock²
- Piccadilly Galleria (retail podium at Piccadilly Grand, Singapore) sold for about S$65.5 million. ^[22]
CDL is also in advanced talks to divest Quayside Isle @ Sentosa Cove, marketed at around S$111 million. TechStock²+1

Company guidance and market commentary now suggest that contracted divestments in 2025 are in the region of S$1.8–1.9 billion, outpacing new investments and helping to lower leverage while funding new opportunities. TechStock²+1

London Holiday Inn deal: income now, optionality later

On 3 December 2025, CDL announced one of its most eye‑catching acquisitions in years: the purchase of the 706‑room Holiday Inn London – Kensington High Street for £280 million (about S$480 million) through its wholly owned subsidiary, Copthorne Hotel Holdings. ^[23]

Key features of the deal:

Price: £280 million, or roughly £396,600 per key
Tenure: Freehold
Site area: About 6,356 square metres in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
Operating metrics:
- Occupancy above 97% for the first nine months of 2025
- Revenue in the preceding 12 months exceeding £39 million
- CDL expects a running yield of over 6% on the purchase price

Strategically, the hotel sits adjacent to CDL’s existing Copthorne Tara Hotel, giving the group control of two of the largest freehold hotel sites in Kensington and Chelsea and lifting its Central London hotel room count to over 3,000 keys. ^[24]

Management has framed the acquisition as:

A high‑yielding, stabilised hospitality asset in a global gateway city, at a time when interest rates in the UK are easing.
A long‑term redevelopment option in a severely supply‑constrained, premium neighbourhood.

At the same time, CDL stresses that divestments still exceed acquisitions in 2025, with about S$1.9 billion in contracted disposals versus S$1.7 billion of major new investments, three of which are Singapore GLS sites. ^[25]

Singapore property market backdrop: cooling measures but resilient demand

CDL’s earnings still depend heavily on the Singapore residential cycle, which in turn is shaped by sustained government cooling measures.

Recent commentary on the 2024–2025 policy regime highlights: ^[26]

Higher Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) for second and subsequent properties, and effectively punitive rates for foreign buyers (around 60% in some cases).
Tighter Loan‑to‑Value (LTV) limits, especially for buyers with existing mortgages, and stricter debt‑servicing ratios (TDSR/MSR) that cap total debt obligations and mortgage instalments as a share of income.
Changes to Seller’s Stamp Duty (SSD) rules that extend the effective minimum holding period to four years for some properties, discouraging short‑term flipping.

These measures have clearly cooled transaction volumes, particularly at the high end and among investors. However, a number of banks and property consultancies still project low‑single‑digit price growth for 2025, arguing that domestic end‑user demand and tight supply are keeping a floor under prices. ^[27]

Macro data also helps:

Official figures show Q3 2025 GDP growth of about 4.2% year‑on‑year, prompting Singapore’s government to upgrade its full‑year 2025 GDP forecast to around 4%. TechStock²+1

In practice, this means CDL is operating in a market where speculative buying is constrained, but owner‑occupier demand remains underpinned by jobs and income, especially for well‑located, mass‑market projects.

What analysts are saying about CDL stock

Sell‑side sentiment towards CDL has turned markedly more positive through 2025, following years of discount‑to‑NAV malaise and, more recently, a high‑profile boardroom spat.

Recent broker actions

RHB (November 2025) upgraded CDL from Neutral to Buy and raised its target price from S$4.90 to S$8.50, applying a 40% discount to revalued NAV (down from 65%) and a small ESG discount for governance concerns. The upgrade cited: strong Singapore residential sales, ongoing asset divestments, and leverage to falling interest rates. ^[28]
POEMS (Phillip Securities) (20 November 2025) downgraded CDL from Buy to Accumulate on valuation grounds but kept an RNAV‑based target price of S$8.34, implying a roughly 35% discount to RNAV of S$12.82. POEMS emphasised continuing divestment momentum and the potential for a special dividend at FY 2025 results. ^[29]
DBS Group Research maintained a Buy call earlier in August with a fair value around S$9.00, highlighting a “clearer path forward” after internal governance turbulence and continued capital recycling. ^[30]

On the U.S. OTC ADR (CDEVY), MarketBeat reports that DBS raised its rating to a “moderate buy,” and shows an average rating of “Buy” across tracked analysts, even after a short‑term gap down in early December. ^[31]

Consensus targets and forecasts

Pulling together various data providers and research summaries: TechStock²+2TechStock²+2

Consensus 12‑month target prices generally cluster in the mid‑S$8s, implying roughly 15–20% upside from current levels around S$7.2.
Some brokers, such as HSBC and Citi, reportedly go higher, with targets approaching S$9–S$11, while more conservative models (e.g., Simply Wall St’s cash‑flow‑based fair value around S$6.60) suggest the share price is closer to intrinsic value already.
SGX‑linked platform Beansprout cites a consensus target of around S$8.65, and notes that trailing and forecast dividends equate to a relatively modest 1–1.5% yield, reinforcing the thesis that CDL is primarily a capital gains story at this stage.

On the fundamentals side, Simply Wall St’s consensus‑driven model projects earnings growth of roughly 25–26% per year and revenue growth near 15% per year over the next few years, with forecast EPS growth around 27% annually and return on equity rising towards 5%. TechStock²

Valuation, technicals and short‑term forecasts

Valuation

Using the latest traded price around S$7.19 on 8 December 2025: ^[32]

Trailing P/E: ~33x
Forward P/E: ~22–23x
Dividend yield (trailing): ~1.5%
Price‑to‑book and price‑to‑revalued NAV: still at a discount, though narrower than in early 2024 (various brokers quote 35–50% discounts depending on NAV assumptions).

For a cyclical developer, a low‑20s forward P/E is not cheap, but bulls argue that the discount to asset value plus capital recycling and falling rates justify a rerating.

Technical picture

Short‑term technical analysis sites see CDL as riding a gentle uptrend rather than a mania: ^[33]

StockInvest labels CDL a “buy candidate”, noting that as of 5 December 2025 the stock had risen on 6 of the last 10 trading days and gained about 2.8% over two weeks.
The stock sits in the lower band of a rising short‑term trend channel, with a 3‑month model projecting roughly 8% upside and a 90% probability that prices end that period between S$7.8 and S$8.3.
Support is flagged around S$7.18–S$7.20, with near‑term resistance around S$7.30–S$7.40.
Historical volatility is modest: average daily moves of around 1.3–1.5%, and a beta of about 0.23, according to StockAnalysis, indicating lower volatility than the broader market.

These technical models are mechanistic and depend heavily on recent price action, but they broadly echo the fundamental narrative: a steady rerating rather than a speculative spike.

Key drivers into 2026

Analysts and the company itself consistently point to four main drivers for CDL’s share price over the next 12–18 months. SGX Links+3TechStock²+3TechStock²+3

1. Singapore residential launches

Sales momentum and pricing at Zyon Grand, Norwood Grand, The Orie, Kassia and future GLS/EC projects will be crucial.
Any additional cooling measures, mortgage‑rate shocks or broader economic slowdown in Singapore would quickly show up in booking numbers and margins.

2. Interest‑rate trajectory and refinancing

Roughly half of CDL’s debt is on floating rates, and about 70‑plus per cent of its debt is due for refinancing by 2027.
A lower‑rate environment would improve interest coverage and potentially boost capital values of income‑producing assets; a renewed spike in global yields would have the opposite effect. ^[34]

3. Capital recycling and NAV unlock

The market has clearly rewarded CDL for executing on disposals – from South Beach to Osaka and Sunnyvale.
Further progress on Quayside Isle, remaining UK landbank (e.g., the former Stag Brewery site) and any additional non‑core hotel sales could help narrow the discount to NAV and support further target price upgrades. TechStock²+1

4. Hospitality and “living” platform performance

The ability of the London Holiday Inn to deliver the promised >6% running yield, while maintaining high occupancy in a volatile macro environment, will be closely watched.
Performance at PRS and PBSA assets in the UK, Japan and Australia will also shape recurring earnings, especially if traditional office markets remain soft in places like China. ^[35]

Risks: property cycle, FX and governance overhangs

Despite the more upbeat tone, CDL is not a risk‑free story. Key risks frequently cited in broker research and company disclosures include: ^[36]

Singapore property‑market risk: A sharp downturn in prices, further tightening of ABSD/LTV rules, or a recession‑driven spike in unemployment could hit both development earnings and asset valuations.
Execution risk: Delays in launching or completing projects, or in closing planned divestments, would slow capital recycling and could keep leverage elevated.
FX and overseas exposure: CDL’s sizeable portfolios and funding in the US, UK, Europe and Japan expose earnings and equity to currency swings – 1H 2025’s S$63 million FX loss is a case in point.
Interest‑rate volatility: The same floating‑rate exposure that benefits CDL in a falling‑rate environment becomes a liability if global bond yields push higher again.
Governance perception: The father‑son boardroom conflict that surfaced earlier in 2025 – widely reported as an “attempted coup” dispute – has formally been put to rest, but some investors and at least one broker still apply an ESG discount to reflect governance concerns. ^[37]

CDL stock on 8 December 2025: how the story looks now

Bringing it together as of 8 December 2025:

CDL’s share price around S$7.2 reflects a company that has moved past its crisis phase: 1H 2025 showed solid revenue growth and strong residential demand; Q3 looked soft on paper but is better understood as a launch‑timing issue. ^[38]
The group has delivered on capital recycling, monetising roughly S$1.8–1.9 billion of assets while selectively adding prime properties, capped by the Holiday Inn Kensington acquisition. ^[39]
Consensus 12‑month price targets in the mid‑S$8 range imply mid‑teens to low‑20s upside if execution continues and macro conditions remain benign. At the same time, valuation multiples are no longer distressed, and the dividend yield is modest. TechStock²+2Grow Beansprout+2

For investors following CDL, the central question into 2026 is whether management can keep turning asset‑rich balance sheets into cash, reinvest selectively, and navigate a cooled but resilient Singapore housing market – all while keeping FX, rates and governance risks in check.