2023/12/21 by Beatrice Laforga Leave a Comment
77 Logistics Place and the two other facilities were part of a portfolio acquired from GIC and Frasers in 2015 (Source: CLAR)
CapitaLand Ascendas REIT (CLAR) is in the process of selling a set of three suburban logistics assets in Brisbane to Sydney-based investment house AsheMorgan for a total of A$73 million ($49.3 million).
The REIT’s manager on Wednesday entered into a set of three put and call option deeds to dispose of a logistics facility in the suburb of Larapinta and a pair of projects in Parkinson, south of Brisbane’s central business district, according to a stock filing on Wednesday.
A market source identified the buyer as AsheMorgan, a boutique investment manager which in October teamed up with Mitsubishi Estate in Sydney to scoop up the 60 Margaret Street office tower and its MetCentre retail podium in a A$777 million deal.
The CapitaLand-sponsored REIT is trimming its Aussie exposure after making three big purchases in Singapore and in the UK this year worth a combined $399 million, including picking up a data centre in northwest London during August for £125.1 million (then $159.6 million).
Selling Down in Brisbane
CapitaLand Ascendas REIT is selling the three sheds for a 6.2 percent premium over the assets’ combined market value of A$68.75 million as of end-August, according to the statement, with the sale expected to be completed in the first quarter of next year.
William Tay, CEO of CapitaLand Ascendas REIT’s manager (Image: CapitaLand)
The SGX-listed trust is divesting the assets eight years after acquiring them from GIC and Frasers Property Australia as part of a 26-property deal in 2015.
The trust managed by a unit of CapitaLand Investment expects the portfolio sale to generate A$69.2 million in net proceeds which the manager says could be used to finance committed investments, repay debts, extend loans to subsidiaries, fund general corporate and working capital needs, or make distributions to unitholders.
“The proposed divestment aligns with the manager’s proactive asset management strategy to improve the quality of CLAR’s portfolio and optimise returns for unitholders of CLAR,” the manager said.
The largest asset in the set is a 13,886 square metre (149,468 square foot) warehouse at 77 Logistics Place, which was valued at S$26.5 million as of 31 December 2022, based on the trust’s annual report.
The two other facilities are situated within the Southlink Business Park in Parkinson, roughly 21 kilometres south of Brisbane’s central business district.
The pair includes a 13,738 square metre industrial facility at 92 Sandstone Place valued at S$22 million at the end of last year, as well as a temperature-controlled paper storage facility and workshop at 62 Sandstone Place valued at S$19 million.
Following the divestment, CLAR’s portfolio will consist of 228 properties including 33 assets in Australia, 48 properties in the US, 50 assets in Europe and 97 properties in its home city Singapore.
Mingtiandi reached out to AsheMorgan for comment but had not yet received a response by the time of publication.
Portfolios in Flux
Back home, CLAR expanded its shed holdings in May with the S$218.2 million (then $163 million) purchase of the Shugart, an R&D and business park property in Singapore’s One North district which serves as the primary research facility outside the US for data storage firm Seagate.
In January, the trust completed its acquisition of the Philips APAC Centre facility in the Toa Payoh area through a sale and leaseback deal worth S$104.8 million.
The deal with CLAR adds the first true industrial assets to AsheMorgan’s A$4 billion portfolio (including development projects), following its joint purchase of the office and retail complex at 60 Margaret Street with Mitsubishi two months ago.
Last month, Sydney broadsheet The Australian reported that AsheMorgan is also looking to buy 120 Edward St in Brisbane’s central business district with talks said to involve an A$120 million price for the asset.
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