The most recent lease regear with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) was a very big milestone for his team this year, according to Liaw, as it allows the REIT’s weighted average lease expiry (WALE) to extend from 2.2 years to 6.9 years, with 2028 lease expiry exposure materially reduced to just 32%.
Three years ago, Elite UK REIT (SGX:MXNU
) was struggling financially when its aggregate leverage (gearing) hit a high of 47.5% as at Dec 31, 2023 against the regulatory ceiling of 50%. Today, however, the REIT has become more stable and financially sustainable under the guidance of Joshua Liaw, CEO at Elite UK REIT’s manager. As at March 31, its aggregate leverage is down to 37.4%.
“Upon my appointment as CEO, the first thing that I did was fundraising to reduce the gearing of the REIT to a more sustainable level,” says Liaw in a recent interview with The Edge Singapore. In addition, Liaw dealt with the vacancy issues and expanded the REIT’s investment mandate to the living sector.
