1 One-North Crescent is part of the proposed UIB Boustead REIT portfolio
A Macquarie Asset Management-controlled fund manager is packaging up 23 properties valued at a combined S$1.9 billion ($1.48 billion) as the initial portfolio of a Singapore-listed real estate investment trust, according to an announcement late Thursday.
UIB Holdings Ltd, which was formed in March when Macquarie portfolio company Unified Industrial acquired the property and fund management business of SGX-listed Boustead Singapore, has named the trust UI Boustead REIT and says the proposed vehicle will primarily invest directly or indirectly in logistics, industrial and business park assets, according to Boustead Singapore.
Thursday’s announcement comes just two weeks after Boustead had informed the Singapore exchange of UIB’s plan to list a REIT, with the proposed listing marking the latest evolution of Macquarie’s Asia Pacific industrial strategy, after the company was an earlier backer of logistics platform Logos. That APAC-wide operator was acquired by ARA Asset Management in 2020, with Macquarie investing in Unified Industrial in 2021.
The listing plan comes amid an upswing in Singapore REIT activity, with rental accommodation specialist Centurion Corp having filed the final prospectus for its Singapore-listed trust earlier on Thursday. The property investment unit of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com is also said to be working on a Singapore REIT plan with Switzerland’s Partners Group and Hillhouse Investment’s Rava Partners division.
Singapore Assets Dominate
The proposed REIT portfolio includes 21 leasehold properties in Singapore, according to the filing, as well as two freehold assets in Japan. The entire portfolio spans approximately 5.9 million square feet (548,128 square metres) of gross floor area, which yields net lettable area of approximately 5.3 million square feet.
Macquarie Asset Management head of real estate for Asia Pacific James Kemp
Nearly 70 percent of the S$1.9 billion total agreed property value of the IPO portfolio comes from the Singapore assets, with the Japan properties accounting for remainder. Boustead Singapore’s interests in the 21 Singapore assets accounts for just under 25 percent of the IPO portfolio value with the company expecting to hold up to approximately 19 percent of the total units in UI Boustead REIT on the date of listing.
Among the Boustead Singapore-invested properties to be included in the listed trust are business park complex 29 Media Circle as well as industrial assets 8 & 12 Seletar Aerospace Heights, 84 Boon Keng Road and 11 Seletar Aerospace Link, with the company holding partial interests in the four properties. The listed trust is expected to acquire full ownership of those assets through a set of sale and purchase agreements described in the announcement.
UIB Boustead has also agreed to acquire industrial facilities 98 Tuas Bay Drive and 6 Tampines Industrial Avenue 5 in Singapore from a joint venture controlled by Boustead Singapore’s Boustead Projects unit. The trust will also acquire a 12-asset portfolio from Boustead Industrial Fund and will purchase the 1 One-North Crescent business park property, which serves as the Southeast Asia headquarters of gamer gear maker Razer, from a Boustead joint venture.
Plans in the Making
A timetable and other details of the REIT have yet to be formally announced, however, market analysts earlier indicated to Mingtiandi that Singapore financial giant UOB is leading the underwriting. The sponsor is said to be aiming to list the REIT within this year.
With Macquarie holding a majority stake in UIB Boustead, Boustead Singapore has an approximately 20 percent stake in the entity, with Unified Industrial founders Josh Olsan and Ross Antoci also owning minority stakes in the company.
The iEdge S-Reit index, which serves as the benchmarks for real estate investment trusts listed on the Singapore stock exchange has climbed 9.5 percent so far this year, as lower interest rates have boosted the investor appeal of REITs and the listed trusts see greater acquisition opportunities arriving with lower borrowing costs.
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