Natural Cool completes S$53mln property sale and leaseback

Company to leaseback property at Tai Seng for 10 years at an annual rent of $4.5mln-$5.3mln.

Natural Cool Holdings Limited (“Natural Cool”, the “Company” or the “Group”), a leading provider of integrated climate management and switchgear solutions, on Wednesday announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Natural Cool Investments Pte. Ltd (“NCI”) has completed the sale and leaseback (“Sale and Leaseback”) of the Group’s land and building at 29 Tai Seng Avenue (the “Property”). This follows the related resolution passed at the Extraordinary General Meeting of the Company held on July 30, 2010, according to a Natural Cool report.

Under the terms of the Sale and Leaseback, the Property has been sold to Mapletree Logistics Trust for S$53.0 million. NCI will leaseback the Property for a duration of 10 years and will continue to house its business operations at the Tai Seng premises.

Mr Steven Chen Choon Khee, Executive Chairman of Natural Cool commented, “I am pleased to announce the completion of the Sale and Leaseback of the property at Tai Seng. This will enable us to unlock the value of the property and for us to redeploy resources to strengthen the Group’s balance sheet as well as working capital to generate future growth. We will continue our business operations at the Tai Seng premises as it will allow us to unify the Group’s air-conditioning and switchgear businesses under one roof. This arrangement will strengthen the company’s branding and market presence locally while providing a springboard for expansion into the region.”

“The Board of Directors and Management remains committed to enhancing long-term shareholder value. Going forward, as a growing company, our priority is to ensure that the Group has sufficient funds to expand our operations and subsequently generate better returns for all stakeholders.”

NCI will leaseback the Property for 10 years at an annual rent of between S$4.5 million and S$5.3 million. The leaseback of the property shall commence immediately after completion.