You might be familiar with the brand Fragrance Hotels, a line of affordable hotels in Singapore with a past rep of being “love hotels”—well, those you sneak in for a discreet dose of hanky-panky. What you might not be familiar with would be the CEO behind this successful hotel chain. He is none other than James Koh Wee Meng. Among Singapore’s richest, the hotelier and property magnate actually hails from a jewellery background but made his mark with the first Fragrance Hotel (in Geylang) and its rapid expansion when he was just 33 years of age.
Lately, the brand has moved out of the love hotel stereotype with a rebranding, and the CEO in his 50s, who has a net worth of $1.9B as reported by Forbes, has also moved on to bigger and better things as evidenced by bold moves he made expanding his property empire. We take a look at the arsenal of properties he’s acquired in recent years for a glimpse of his property savvy.
Disclaimer: These houses are private property, so please do not trespass if you’re ever nearby—just admire them from afar if you pass by.
Lornie Road Good Glass Bungalow (GCB) worth $24.8 million
In January 2022, the CEO bought a bungalow in the Caldecott Hill GCB area along Lornie Road. This was at the price of $24.8 million! Looking at the massive freehold land area of 25,271sqft, that is equivalent to $981 psf.
Situated besides the Lornie Viaduct and off Joan Road, the bungalow is relatively near to the main road and highway.
Image credit: Google Maps
To give some context to us plebeians, this is considered quite a bargain, with good class bungalows in the same area transacting around $1,628 psf in May 2022 for a Joan Road GCB and $1,537 psf for an Olive Road GCB in June 2021.This lower price tag might be due to two reasons. Firstly, the site’s location fronts the main Lornie Road and is near the highway, with considerable amounts of noise pollution from traffic. Secondly, the bungalow was built decades ago and is not exactly in the best condition—perhaps more of an investment and redevelopment buy for Koh rather than a place to stay in.
Another well-known name, Secretlab co-founder Ian Ang, was said to have snagged an Olive Road GCB for around $1,537 psf as well. In comparison, EdgeProp.sg reported that a GCB on Lornie Road was transacted at $50 million just this 2025.
Hillside Drive bungalow for $19.25 million
Adding to his momentum, Koh bought another massive bungalow in the same year—he truly buys homes like how we add to our online shopping cart. The home in question is situated at Hillside Drive off Yio Chu Kang Road, which costs $19.25 million and boasts a slightly smaller, but still massive land area of 21,046 square feet. The psf lands at around $915.
The site should be around 48 Hillside Drive, as per our little detective investigation.
Image credit: Google Maps
Image credit: Google Maps
It is also a rather huge plot, and is not classified as a non-landed housing area, leading to the possibility of building apartment complexes or even detached houses— making it brimming with investment and redevelopment potential. At present, a quick Google Maps look shows us that the home has yet to be redeveloped. We can only wonder what plans Koh has in store for this property.
Wife buys Bishopsgate Good Class Bungalow for $65 million
Some couples collect snowglobes, others collect figurines—Koh and his wife—well, they seem to collect GCBs. Lim Wan Looi, wife of Fragrance Group’s boss, further added to their collection of GCBs with a purchase of a GCB at Bishopgate.
The site somewhere along Bishopgate is easy to miss, surrounded by lush greenery affording it utmost privacy.
Image credit: Google Maps
Image credit: Google Maps
Officially changing hands for a hefty price tag of$65 million, the 29,435sqft freehold site is home to an old, single-storey bungalow. That’s the highest ever psf among the three properties at 2,208—but it’s no surprise considering the area’s proximity to town and the botanic gardens.
Picking up other properties at Sentosa Cove & Verdun House
Besides prime districts on the mainland, Koh has also made moves at one of SG’s most premium addresses: Sentosa Cove. For instance, he sold a sea-facing bungalow along Cove Grove for $21.89 million just last year. He has also dabbled in commercial properties this year, such as bidding for a site (Verdun House) at Farrer Park for it to be redeveloped.
The property magnate had certainly been busy buying and selling in 2022 and 2023, having already purchased 3 bungalows in a short span of time. One possible reason? Possible future inflation of property prices, which could have meant that Koh had great foresight and could see his investments appreciating in value fast.
Well, one thing’s for sure—the GCB property market is definitely thriving in 2025, and if your wallets are deep enough, it might be time to pick up some properties with potential. As for the rest of us, we might just stick to buying houses on our Monopoly boards.
For more Good Class Bungalow-related content:
- GCBs owned by famous CEOs and bosses
- Crypto billionaire sells GCBs after market crash
- GCBs that made the news
- GCB near Queen Astrid Park has record high rent
Cover image adapted from: Google Maps
This article was originally published on 19th July 2022, and updated on 10th April 2025.
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