RL Commercial REIT Inc. (RCR) is poised to expand its portfolio by acquiring more office buildings and malls from its parent company, Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC), as part of a long-term growth plan.
“Our fund management company actually evaluates all the assets for the sponsor and looks at which is more beneficial for RCR shareholders,” said RCR Treasurer Kerwin Max Tan.
Tan said RCR’s public float is currently at 47 percent, well above the 33 percent minimum required for real estate investment trust (REIT) companies. This opens the door for more asset infusions from RLC.
RCR hopes to absorb more of RLC’s properties, especially in the office and mall sectors. However, hotel assets are not a priority at the moment.
“I think it will take a while before the hotels can be infused because we want the best assets to be infused in RCR,” Tan said.
RLC still has over 1.3 million square meters of malls gross leasable area (GLA), more than 250,000 square meters of office GLA, nearly 300,000 square meters of logistics GLA and 4,000 hotel keys that could be infused into RCR in the future.
Meanwhile, RCR currently boasts a strong 96 percent occupancy rate for its office portfolio, well below the industry vacancy rate of around 20 percent. Rental rates remain flat despite the broader market slowdown.
RCR President Jericho Go said the company has been proactive in upgrading its buildings to attract tenants. It recently renovated the lobby of Robinsons Summit Center in Makati, which boosted its occupancy.
“We premiumized the lobby, revitalized it, and as a result, more and more companies are wanting to hold office there,” Go said.
The company attributed its high occupancy to its properties being located in prime areas such as central business districts and transit-oriented locations.
“The availability of talent and manpower pool has made it very attractive, particularly for IT-BPO and traditional companies,” Go said.
RCR acquired nearly P34 billion worth of assets through a property-for-share swap with RLC last year. The assets involved 11 malls and two office buildings that span a total of 347,329 square meters.
