CICT, COREF to purchase Grade A office for $1.26b

The acquisition is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2022.

CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust (CICT) and CapitaLand Open End Real Estate Fund (COREF), a new discretionary fund of CapitaLand Investment Limited (CLI), is set to acquire 79 Robinson Road, a Grade A office building, for $1.26b. 

According to CICT, the property, located in the Tanjong Pagar sub-market of Singapore’s central business district, has an agreed property value, negotiated on a willing-buyer and willing-seller basis, of $1,260m or $2,423 per square foot.

It will also be purchased through acquiring 70% and 30% of the shares of the property holding company, Southernwood Property Pte Ltd (SWP), a special purpose vehicle. After the completion of the acquisition, SWP will be “converted to a limited liability partnership.”

This acquisition is COREF’s first in Singapore and the company’s third asset after investing in two properties in Japan. 

The purchase is expected to be finished in the second quarter of 2022. Also, the property has a net property income (NPI) yield of 4.0%, based on pro forma annualised January 2022 NPI. 

CICT CEO Tony Tan hailed their partnership with COREF as it will allow them to optimise their funding. He added that the acquisition is timely due to the upturn in Singapore’s prime office market.