According to a press release dated Dec 17, a unit of Urban Commons which owned the manager of Eagle Hospitality Trust filed an Appeal to Singapore’s Finance Minister, Heng Swee Keat, on Dec 10, with regards to a directive issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). In the directive dated Nov 30, MAS had instructed the trustee of EHT to remove the REIT manager and appoint a new manager.
"Notwithstanding the appeal, the Direction from MAS dated November 30, 2020 currently stands and the Trustee affirms its intention to comply with the MAS Direction," EHT's trustee said in a statement.
The trustee plans to appoint SCCPRE Hospitality REIT Management, a unit of locally based SC Group. The appointment is subject to four resolutions to be voted on in an EGM on Dec 30. Urban Commons was included in the RFP (request for proposal) process but failed to provide a credible and actionable plan for the management and recapitalisation of the REIT.
Based on various filings on SGXnet, Urban Commons appears not to have injected cash into the REIT since IPO. On the other hand, they have defaulted under the master lease agreements including their contractual obligation to pay rent for the properties.
