MREIT to add lifestyle malls to assets

MANILA, Philippines — The Andrew Tan Group’s MREIT Inc. is looking to diversify its asset portfolio by infusing its lifestyle malls into the company.

MREIT is the real estate investment trust (REIT) of Megaworld Corp., Tan’s flagship property developer with residential, offices and malls in its portfolio.

MREIT Inc. president and CEO Kevin Tan said the company is looking into the mall portfolio as an additional asset class aside from office.

“We are looking at other asset classes depending on opportunities and the Megaworld Lifestyle Malls is one portfolio we are looking into,” Tan said after the company’s annual stockholders meeting last week.

He said there is an existing 484,000 square meters of gross leasable area of Megaworld Lifestyle Malls at present although there is no timetable yet as to when the infusion can happen.

For this year alone, MREIT is aiming to expand its GLA by 100,000 sqm.This would bring MREIT to its goal of having a portfolio of 500,000 sqm GLA by 2024, Tan said.

MREIT plans to acquire seven grade A office assets from Megaworld, its sponsor, which Tan said would further strengthen the company’s portfolio.

The assets, which have a combined gross leasable area of around 150,500 square meters, include the 9,500-sqm Two West Campus and 36,400-sqm Ten West Campus in McKinley Hill; the 20,500-sqm Science Hub Tower 3 and 20,700-sqm Science Hub Tower 4 in McKinley West; the 18,200-sqm One Fintech Place and 18,100-sqm Two Fintech Place in Iloilo Business Park, and the 27,100-sqm Davao Finance Center in Davao Park District.

With this infusion, MREIT’s portfolio will grow to around 475,500 sqm, 46 percent more than the current 325,000 sqm.

MREIT’s portfolio covers 18 office properties in four Megaworld premier townships: 1800 Eastwood Avenue, 1880 Eastwood Avenue, and E-Commerce Plaza in Eastwood City; One World Square, Two World Square, Three World Square, 8/10 Upper McKinley, 18/20 Upper McKinley, and World Finance Plaza in McKinley Hill; One Techno Place, Two Techno Place, Three Techno Place, One Global Center, Two Global Center, Festive Walk 1B, and Richmonde Tower in Iloilo Business Park; and One West Campus and Five West Campus in McKinley West.

Tan said MREIT would only expand in areas that have attractive long term growth potentials, such as Megaworld’s township properties in and outside Metro Manila.