MacarthurCook Limited is one step closer to listing a Pan-Asian industrial property trust after securing a portfolio of assets.
Yesterday, MacarthurCook’s Craig Dunstan said the group has agreed with a range of vendors to buy five individual properties in Singapore with a total value of approximately S$125 million ($A105 million).
Dunstan said MacarthurCook intends that these properties will form the basis of a Pan-Asian industrial property trust for which equity will be sought in the first quarter of 2007.
Of the properties acquired, two are from companies listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange, Enviro-Hub Holdings Limited and GRP Limited.
Dunstan said MacarthurCook is continuing negotiations to acquire additional assets for its proposed trust, and will make further announcements if and when those negotiations are successful.
Settlement of these properties is expected to occur around April 2007.
The purchase follows on reports that MacarthurCook is seeking to list a $S300-$S400 million industrial property REIT on the Singapore Stock Exchange.
Currently, MacarthurCook has $1.04 billion of funds under management including the MacarthurCook Industrial Property Trust and the MacarthurCook Property Securities Fund, the MacarthurCook Office Property Trust, a new investment mandate with the RMR Asia Pacific Real Estate Fund and the acquisition of Arc Funds Management Limited.
The group already has a presence in Singapore with its planned listing of the $S100 million MacarthurCook Property Securities Fund.
MacarthurCook’s industrial REIT listing will join an elite list of Australian backed REITs currently listed on the SGX, including industrial property fund Ascendas REIT – jointly owned by Macquarie Goodman; Allco Commercial REIT – backed by Allco Finance; Prime REIT – owned a Macquarie Bank.
Singapore has the third largest REIT market in the Asia region, behind Australia and Japan.
By Adam Parsons
