Singapore-based real estate investment trust CapitaLand Ascott Trust has agreed to sell one of its hotels, the 336-room Robertson House by The Crest Collection in Singapore, for 360 million Singapore dollars ($282 million).
Bangkok-based news site Mingtiandi reports the buyer is a “mainland Chinese individual with ties to the shipping industry,” according to its sources.
CapitaLand Ascott Trust confirmed the transaction via a news release filed on the Singapore Stock Exchange. The release did not name the Robertson House Hotel's new owner.
The release added that the hotel “will be divested at 4% above book value and an exit yield of 2.3%. The net proceeds from the divestment are SG$341.7 million, and CapitaLand Ascott Trust will recognize a net gain of approximately SG$38.1 million.”
The sale is on track to close in the third quarter of this year, with the hotel possessing a 99-year lease. Almost 80 years remains on the leasehold.
“The divestment … at an attractive price of close to SG$1.1 million per key underscores [our] disciplined approach to portfolio reconstitution. It further enhances [our] financial flexibility, enabling us to redeploy the proceeds into higher-yielding properties,” Serena Teo, CapitaLand Ascott Trust’s CEO, said in a statement.
She added proceeds from the deal will support the firm’s capital expenditure, repay higher-interest debt and fund general expenses.
CapitaLand Ascott Trust retains four hotels in Singapore — 220-room Ascott Orchard Singapore; 324-room Lyf One-North Singapore; 329-room Lyf Funan Singapore, and the 192-room Somerset Clarke Quay Singapore, which is under renovation.
As of the end of the first quarter, CapitaLand Ascott Trust has 106 hotels and more than 19,000 rooms in 45 cities in 16 countries. Its overall asset value is SGD$8.9 billion.