RCR readies more mall asset infusions this year

MANILA, Philippines — RL Commercial REIT Inc. (RCR) is poised to bolster its portfolio with more mall asset infusions planned this year from its sponsor Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC) .

RCR director and treasurer Kerwin Max Tan said the company and its fund manager have identified a list of assets that would be infused into RCR this year.

“Barring unforeseen circumstances, depending on market conditions, we’ll probably do the infusions into two batches of assets. And the type of assets most probably will be malls,” he said.

Tan said RCR intends to look out for constant infusions to grow the company.

RCR’s portfolio expanded to 38 assets by end-2025, following the infusion of nine mall assets from RLC through a tax-free property-for-share swap.

The infusion brought RCR’s gross leasable area (GLA) to 1.15 million square meters, 2.7 times its size at listing.

“These infusions go beyond portfolio growth. They reflect RLC’s strong belief in RCR, its long-term vision for value creation, and its commitment to providing RCR with high-quality, sustainable, income-generating assets that strengthen our scale, stability and resilience,” RCR president and CEO Jericho Go said.

RCR’s portfolio currently consists of 21 mall assets and 17 office assets across 25 key locations nationwide.

Malls account for 53 percent of total GLA, while offices account for 47 percent. The company maintained 96 percent blended occupancy and a weighted average lease expiry of 4.02 years.

RLC continues to hold a robust pipeline of potential future infusions, including over 1.1 million sqm of mall GLA, more than 250,000 sqm of office GLA, as well as logistics space and hotels.

Aside from offices and malls, Go said RCR would also consider other assets being infused “later on when the market allows for it.”

“We’ve not yet begun to include logistics as well as hotels (into our portfolio). Of course, there’s a process that needs to be followed, but the strength of RCR is largely attributable to the solid track record and performance of our sponsor,” Go said.

“That’s the beauty of having a very solid and strong sponsor in RLC. When we first listed, the asset type that was included was office because at the time, it was the most resilient asset class, coming out of the pandemic. Then all of a sudden, there’s been a recovery already in terms of the malls. Then the malls became the most likely and preferred asset class. Later on, that can be logistics, that can be hotels,” he said.

Backed by RLC, RCR said it remains focused on disciplined portfolio growth, efficiency-driven operations and sustainable returns for shareholders.

The company is likewise open to acquire third-party assets, according to Go.

“But it’s not as simple as negotiating the price. You also have to see the quality of the asset that is being purchased from a third-party in the way that it’s being managed and also their tenant profile,” Go said.

“As opposed to RLC, our sponsor, we already know the quality of the asset. We already know how it’s being managed, and we already know the tenant profile,” he said.