The manager of the Hong Kong-listed Link REIT says it has completed its acquisition of two suburban retail assets in Singapore.
With the completion of the transaction, the manager has established its Singapore regional office with 133 staff, representing 93% of the existing staff force.
“The team will bring with them their expertise in asset and property management and other operational capabilities, which will be instrumental in deepening Link’s presence in Singapore,” says Link REIT in a March 31 press release.
In addition to managing the two malls under Link’s ownership, namely Jurong Point and Swing By @ Thomson Plaza, the team will provide asset and property management services for AMK Hub, a suburban retail mall under the ownership of Mercatus, marking Link’s first foray into managing third-party assets.
Link REIT, the largest REIT in Asia, says the overall performance of the two acquired properties in Singapore has been good.
Tenant sales and footfall of Jurong Point and Swing By @ Thomson Plaza in January showed positive growth y-o-y, outperforming the 2.1% growth of Singapore’s total retail sales (excluding motor vehicles).
For the full calendar year of 2022, both retail sales and footfall of these two malls saw double-digit growth y-o-y, a healthy tenant retention rate and positive rental reversion, reflecting the resilience in consumer spending in particular in suburban malls as compared to those in prime areas.
In connection with the closing of the transaction, Link has arranged two Singapore dollar four- to five-year term loans with an aggregate facility amount of approximately $2.3 billion with DBS Bank D05 and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited (OCBC Bank) O39 .
Approximately $2.2 billion of the facilities were drawn on March 31 to finance the acquisition.
See also: How Link REIT’s Singapore acquisition works out for unitholders
Link has also been in active dialogues with a number of potential joint venture partners for co-investment in these assets, says the company. “If and when such a joint venture is formed, Link will make an announcement and comply with the REIT Code.”
George Hongchoy, Link’s chief executive officers, says: “The successful closing of the acquisition of Jurong Point and Swing By @ Thomson Plaza together with the asset management arrangement for AMK Hub signifies our first step in our evolving business model underpinned by the Link 3.0 strategy, under which we are committed to pursuing growth as we aim to optimise our portfolio through diversification and to grow our assets under management through an asset lighter model.
