Chika Suzugamori.
If one forgot about who she was, Chika was Nifuji's little sister figure, who went out with him on the trip to Aizuwakamatsu previously, after she ended up failing on her manga.
Naturally, as she called him, Nifuji knew that her draft had failed once again, and she needed to take a trip to wind up all of her stress, yet, without a doubt, there was one question on his mind.
"Does she have enough money?"
Frankly, taking a trip to those areas, especially those rarely visited by tourists, was just too expensive.
The hotel was obvious as one needed to prepare at least 10,000 yen (65 USD), but the train was even more inevitable, as on that trip one might need to spend 15,000 yen or more (at least 100 USD), and when one combined that with the food, and all other things, could a university student like Chika spend that much money weekly?
"...."
"Unless she has a sugar daddy, it is impossible."
Yup, which was why Nifuji was there, but he had to admit that her trip was interesting, as he wouldn't know where they would go, and frankly, he thought that it might be his chance for an investment.
When he came to his equity firm office, he realized how amazing the system was. Previously, he had been using his system on something minimal, which wasn't worth much. Even his company, Gakken, which everyone thought was a good company, was just a mid-size company at best.
Yes, it had a lot of potential, as he was the one who saw "it," but the others?
Nifuji knew that they couldn't see the same view as him, so he might as well focus on his equity firm, which he had just acquired this Marunouchi Brick Square.
To be honest, when he got to this building and got all the data on it, he was dumbfounded.
Still, as everyone was a newbie in this area, let him explain one by one how to see the value of a real estate, which would be divided into real estate asset value, its construction cost, and the price level for visitors.
The value of this building was immense, and it was also the commercial annex of the Marunouchi Park Building. The value of this complex is immense, likely exceeding ¥100 billion (approx. $670 million USD) in terms of asset value, based on the following data:
1. The nearby Shin-Marunouchi Building (completed 2007) had a construction cost of approximately ¥90 billion. The original Marunouchi Building (2002) cost roughly ¥63 billion. The Marunouchi Park Building (completed 2009) is of a similar scale and prestige.
2. The developers paid a significant portion of the ¥50 billion cost for the Tokyo Station renovation just to purchase "air rights" (transfer of floor-area ratio), allowing them to build the Marunouchi Park Building taller than standard regulations would permit.
3. The Marunouchi district has some of the highest land prices in Japan. Mitsubishi Estate originally purchased the entire district in 1890 for ¥1.28 million, a sum now worth trillions in today's portfolio value.
When one combines all of that, it is clear how valuable the building is, right?
If he didn't have the system, he didn't think that the company that owned this building would even think to sell it, or even if people wanted to buy it, they would have to think twice, too, as the price was low.
Moreover, this place is valued as an upscale, high-end destination. It is designed as a "European-style tranquil oasis" featuring a green garden courtyard and the Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum (a faithful reconstruction of a 1894 building using 2.3 million bricks), which houses premium brands and dining. Fine dining options like Griot or La Boutique de Joël Robuchon can be expensive. Kobe beef steaks in the area can run up to ¥23,000. Lunch options are more accessible, often ranging from ¥1,000 to ¥3,000.
Yet even so, 1,000 to 3,000 yen, in other words, about 7 to 20 USD.
Probably, for some people, it was cheap, but for someone who lived in a developed country, the price was just staggering somehow.
"Let's get butter cakes and croissants from Échiré Maison du Beurre (butter specialty shop)."
Yup, if it was before, he would be too lazy, even though he knew that the shop was popular and many of his women wanted to visit it for a date, but he was a little too lazy, especially when it was a popular shop that often sold out daily, but as he got this building, if he wanted the butter cakes and croissant from the shop, it was easy.
Still, wouldn't he be nervous about having this building all of a sudden?
After all, with how immense this building was, the money needed to take care of it was also immense!
Fortunately, the estimated annual revenue of this building was about 12 to 15 billion yen (80 to 100 million USD).
The revenue primarily comes from two sources:
1. Office Rent (approx. 80%): The tower floors (Office) command premium rents. Market Rate: ~¥35,000 – ¥40,000 per tsubo (3.3 sqm) per month.
Calculation: With ~30,000 tsubo of leasable office space, this generates roughly ¥12 billion annually.
2. Retail Rent (Brick Square) (approx. 20%):
Retail tenants (restaurants like Joël Robuchon, Échiré) pay a combination of Fixed Rent + Percentage Rent (a % of their sales). While the floor area is smaller, retail rent per square meter is significantly higher than office rent. This likely contributes ¥2 – ¥3 billion annually.
Also, the estimated total costs of managing this business were about ¥3.5 Billion – ¥4.5 Billion ($23M – $30M USD), which came from Taxes (Fixed Asset & City Planning), Utilities (Energy & Water), Management Fees (Salary), and Maintenance & Repairs (CAPEX).
In summary, as he owns the building, his finances would be like:
He collected: ¥15 billion in rent.
He paid: ¥1.5 billion to the Tokyo Government (Tax).
He paid: ¥3 billion to run it (Lights, Cleaning, Staff).
He kept: ¥10.5 Billion (Profit before corporate tax).
"It isn't bad."
Real estate.
Yes, even from the past era, the land had always been the most valuable thing, which was why people often fought and had wars over it.
Still, while the money was good, it wasn't much, considering there were many businesses that would generate more money, and frankly, while the profit was stable, it was expensive to manage, and the capital needed was even more so.
"I only have about 5 billion yen (35 million USD)..."
What could he do with that amount of money?
If he planned to build a similar building, that amount of money would disappear on the next day to pay for the permissions.
So, he had to change his strategy and invest in something else, but what was it?
As he thought so, the door of his room was knocked.
"Come in."
As his staff opened the door, Chika was there, completely out of place as she held her backpack tightly with an awkward and nervous expression.
"O-Onii-chan..."
Yup, she was just too nervous!