Mapletree Commercial Trust(MCT), a Singapore-focused real estate investment trust, announced that it has agreed to acquire a best-in-class business park, the second phase of Mapletree Business City and the common premises, located at 10, 20, 30 Pasir Panjang Road Singapore from Heliconia Realty, a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of its sponsor Mapletree Investments., at an agreed property value of S$1.55 billion.
The property has a total net lettable area (“NLA”) of approximately 1.2 million square feet and comprises four blocks of business park space (MBC 50, 60, 70 and 80) as well as the common carpark, multi-purpose hall, retail area and common property (including the landscape areas, driveways and walkways) of Mapletree Business City Development.
The property attracts high quality and reputable multinational companies as tenants. In particular, it houses the Asia Pacific headquarters of Google. Since relocating from Asia Square in 2016, Google has steadily increased its leased area in the property, expanded its headcount, and invested significantly in its fit-out and interior design.
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Ms Sharon Lim, Chief Executive Officer of the Manager, said, “The acquisition adds a property of exceptional quality to Mapletree Commercial Trust’s stable. Its excellent location, high specifications and outstanding amenities distinguishes the Property from its peers. It is an appealing and costefficient alternative to the CBD at almost half the CBD’s rent. Since its completion, it has benefited from both decentralisation and flight to quality trends – tenants such as Google, Covidien and Pfizer have consolidated their operations, expanded their footprints cost-effectively, or relocated to the Property in pursuit of higher quality space. These trends, together with the limited upcoming supply of business parks, will continue to support the property’s occupancy and rent.”
Ms Lim elaborated on the acquisition’s benefits, “Similar to the acquisition of MBC I in 2016, our unitholders can expect this transaction to deliver both financial and long-term value. It will boost MCT’s NPI, DPU and NAV per unit, and enlarge its asset size from S$7.4 billion to S$8.9 billion. Post-Acquisition, MCT’s portfolio will be further elevated, with best-in-class assets, namely VivoCity, MBC I and MBC II, collectively constituting about 80% of the Enlarged Portfolio’s valuation and NPI.”
“The property is an excellent fit with the existing portfolio and completes MCT’s control over the entire Alexandra Precinct. This gives Mapletree Commercial Trust greater economies of scale and flexibility in meeting tenant space requirements. As the Singapore government has also announced plans to revamp the Greater Southern Waterfront8 into a new coastal “live-work-play” precinct, our deeper presence in the Alexandra/HarbourFront micro market makes MCT a prime beneficiary of the urban transformation.”
