REIT Oracle

Sitting on a land parcel of approximately 4.6 acres, the office project is part of a mixed-used development with a total net leasable area of approximately 1.36 million sq ft. The mixed-use development is a flagship commercial project of Maia, comprising office and retail space with net leasable areas of 1.13 million sq ft and 0.22 million sq ft respectively. As part of the forward purchase arrangement, CLINT will fully fund the development of the office project and receive interest on the funding at a rate which is higher than its borrowing cost. Upon completion of the development and stabilisation, CLINT is expected to acquire the office space in 1H 2030, while Maia will retain the retail portion. The purchase price of the office space is estimated to be INR14,717 million / S$233.6 million.

The manager said the net proceeds of about US$39 million from the Plaza divestment, coming on the heels of the sale of its Capitol for a net consideration of US$110 million, would enable the Reit to pay off US$130.7 million in loans maturing in 2025, and get an early start on paying down debts maturing in 2026.

Following the divestment, the Reit’s portfolio occupancy will stand at 96.6 per cent, while its weighted average lease expiry by net lettable area will improve from 6.3 years to 7.4 years.

Cuscaden Peak, held by Mapletree Investments and CLA Real Estate Holdings, became the sponsor of Paragon REIT in April 2022, after the completion of the acquisition of Singapore Press Holdings' non-media assets.

The properties are located in Senai Airport City, an industrial and manufacturing hub in the Senai region, which is part of the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone in Malaysia.

The three properties – three single-floor detached factories that are each annexed with a two-storey office block – are expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2025.

Teo noted that the FY2024 NOI yield of the two hotels is 230 basis points higher than the blended exit yield of about 2 per cent for the four previous divestments in Japan.

She said: “By swiftly redeploying divestment proceeds into these higher-yielding assets, we have fully replaced the income from the four divested properties. Clas continues to focus on delivering growth by ensuring our portfolio is well-positioned to capture lodging demand.”

However, the net proceeds of US$23.2 million from the divestment is about 10.2 per cent, or US$2.6 million, lower than the book value of the property, which stood at US$25.8 million as at Jun 30, 2024.

The sale price is 39.8 per cent above the latest valuation of S$8 million as at Nov 5, 2024, said MLT’s manager on Thursday (Jan 16).

The consideration represents a 1.5 per cent premium above its valuation of S$9.7 million, said the manager in a bourse filing on Wednesday (Jan 15).

"Through the strategic review, the board is committed to undertaking a rigorous process to consider all options relating to the business of First REIT, which may include but are not limited to, exploration of joint ventures, strategic partnerships, asset acquisitions and/or asset divestments, with a view to delivering sustainable long-term value for First REIT’s unitholders," says First REIT.