CapitaLand Investment divests 79 Robinson Road to CICT and COREF for $1.26 bil

By Samantha Chiew,

The Edge Singapore

/ EdgeProp Singapore |

March 25, 2022 7:29 PM SGT

Capital Tower (centre) and 79 Robinson Road (right) [Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore]

SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - CapitaLand Investment Limited (CLI) and its joint venture partners for 79 Robinson Road – Mitsui & Co. and Tokyo Tatemono Co. – have entered into agreements to divest their 100% interest in the property to CLI-sponsored investment vehicles CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust (CICT) and CapitaLand Open End Real Estate Fund (COREF) for $1.26 billion or $2,423 psf. CLI’s effective stake in the property is 65%.

The transaction is targeted to be completed in 2Q2022. Upon completion, CLI is expected to receive proceeds of about $391 million and realise an estimated gain of $72 million.

Capital Tower (left) and 79 Robinson Road (right) will propel CICT to a dominant position in Tanjong Pagar with more than 1 million sq ft of net lettable office space including ancillary retail space (Photo: CapitaLand Investment Ltd)

Located in the Tanjong Pagar area of Singapore's central business district, 79 Robinson Road is a Grade A office building completed in April 2020 with a remaining land tenure of around 45 years. The 29-storey property comprises 514,950 sq ft of office space and 4,999 sq ft of ancillary retail space, with a committed occupancy of 92.9% as at Dec 31, 2021.

The property's weighted average lease expiry is 5.8 years and office tenants include multinational companies from diverse sectors such as banking, legal, insurance & financial services, business consultancy, IT, aviation, media and telecommunications.

CLI's Yap: CLI’s divestment of its interest in 79 Robinson Road to CICT and COREF demonstrates the disciplined execution of our strategy to convert balance sheet assets into FUM that generate recurring FRE (Credit: CLI)

As at Dec 31, 2021, CLI had a pipeline of approximately $10 billion of high-quality investment properties on its balance sheet, intended for recycling to its various fund platforms over the next three to four years, which will be an important contributor to the group’s funds under managemen (FUM), fee-related earnings (FRE) and return-on-equity growth. The group targets to recycle at least $3 billion of assets annually.

"CLI’s divestment of its interest in 79 Robinson Road to CICT and COREF demonstrates the disciplined execution of our strategy to convert balance sheet assets into FUM that generate recurring FRE,” says Jonathan Yap, CEO, fund management, CLI. “It also shows our strong commitment to support the long-term growth and continual success of CLI’s investment vehicles – both our sponsored real estate investment trusts and private funds – by providing a pipeline of attractive assets.”

CICT's Tan: The acquisition of a significant interest in 79 Robinson Road reinforces CICT’s continued focus on Singapore, and is part of an ongoing portfolio reconstitution to enhance portfolio quality and resilience (Credit: CICT)

The acquisition of a significant interest in 79 Robinson Road “reinforces CICT’s continued focus on Singapore, and is part of an ongoing portfolio reconstitution to enhance portfolio quality and resilience,” according to Tony Tan, CEO of the manager of CICT. Coupled with Capital Tower, another prime office building across the street from 79 Robinson Road, the acquisition will “propel CICT to a dominant position in Singapore’s Tanjong Pagar office sub-market with more than 1 million sq ft of net lettable area including ancillary retail space”, adds Tan.

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