MREIT to acquire 4 prime properties

MANILA, Philippines — MREIT Inc., the Andrew Tan-led REIT company, will acquire four prime, grade A, PEZA-accredited properties by December this year, adding 55,700 square meters to its portfolio.

These are Two Techno Place, Three Techno Place, and One Global Center, which are located in Iloilo Business Park as well as World Finance Plaza in McKinley Hill in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig.

Once completed, the infusion will increase by 25 percent MREIT’s portfolio gross leasable area (GLA) to 280,131 square meters from 224,431 sqm.

MREIT’s management will ensure that the acquisition will be closed under such terms that will result in enhanced value for its shareholders.

Company president and CEO Kevin Tan said the ultimate target is to make MREIT one of the largest office REITs in Southeast Asia.

“We remain steadfast in our vision of making MREIT one of the largest office REITs not only in the Philippines, but also in the Southeast Asian region as well, and this acquisition is but the first step to realizing the significant growth potential of the company. We look to close the deal by December of this year and expect that these assets will start to contribute revenues to MREIT starting January 2022,” Tan said.

The acquisition will be funded through new borrowings in order to further enhance returns.

MREIT earlier revealed its plan to infuse before the end of 2022 around 100,000 sqm of additional office GLA, equivalent to roughly 45 percent of the company’s total portfolio.

This latest transaction represents the first wave of acquisitions to meet this target, Tan said.

The four prime office properties have an average occupancy rate of 99 percent and benefit from a table tenant base primarily composed of BPOs.

During the pandemic, demand for office space in IloIlo Business Park and McKinley Hill remained high, particularly from BPO locators, MREIT said.

“The quality of growth is also important to us. That is why we are very deliberate in choosing which properties to acquire. This way, we not only ensure the sustainability of our income generation, but also provide a clear path towards capital appreciation,” Tan said.