On Apr 1, ESR Cayman and PGIM Real Estate announced a built-to-suit (BTS) redevelopment project for POKKA Logistics Singapore, the manufacturer and marketer of the popular ready-to-drink beverages under the POKKA brand.
The project is a redevelopment of POKKA’s existing single storey warehouse located at 4 Benoi Crescent which has been in operations for over 30 years. ESR will partner with PGIM Real Estate’s Asia core strategy to invest approximately US$100 million to acquire the leasehold rights of the site from POKKA and develop a circa 64,490 sqm, five-storey, best-in-class warehouse facility to be completed in 1Q2024. POKKA has committed a 10-year lease of a minimum of 70% of the building space, with an option for further extensions.
PGIM Real Estate is the real estate investment and financing business of PGIM, the US$1.5 trillion global investment management business of Prudential Financial.
Jeffrey Shen and Stuart Gibson, Co-founders and Co-CEOs of ESR, said: “This is an exciting opportunity for ESR as we leverage our unrivalled development expertise to support POKKA’s business needs by creating space that’s designed to achieve energy efficiency and increase productivity. We are also very delighted to establish our first partnership with PGIM Real Estate to invest together in the robust market of Singapore where we see excellent market fundamentals and ongoing strong demand for quality assets.”
Benett Theseira, PGIM Real Estate’s head of Asia Pacific commented, “As Singapore’s economy continues on its path towards recovery, we remain positive on the country’s logistics sector due to its strong fundamentals and stable returns. We expect this positive momentum and the ongoing supply chain diversification to drive demand for high quality warehouse space. This is a rare opportunity for PGIM Real Estate to acquire a stake in a prime asset anchored by a high-quality tenant. Our partner, ESR brings an extensive track record in managing logistics developments and properties and, through our collaboration, we are excited that this acquisition and redevelopment project will further extend our regional footprint within the logistics sector.”
Construction of the facility will commence in April 2022 and is scheduled for completion in 1Q2024.
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ESR completed the acquisition of ARA Asset Management earlier this year, catapulting its AUM to US$140 billion. Of this, ESR is the largest sponsor and manager of REITs in APAC, with 14 listed REITs with AUM of US$45 billion.
