Arthaland sets P30-B expansion program
Po family-led boutique property developer Arthaland Corp. has mapped out a P30-billion five-year expansion program that will diversify its earnings stream and expand its geographical footprint.
“We are a small company but our ambitions are high,” Arthaland president Angela Lacson said in a briefing yesterday after the listing of the company’s P2-billion preferred shares on the Philippine Stock Exchange.
Lacson added, however, that the company’s expansion was deliberately selective. “We look at the opportunities and design according to what the market can absorb,” Lacson said, adding that the company preferred customized over cookie cutter-type of developments.
Arthaland director Leo Po said the company’s five-year plan included the foray into office property development in Cebu. The launch of office-for-sale project Cebu Exchange Tower, which caters to business process outsourcing firms, marks the company’s first venture outside Luzon.
“We’re excited with the prospects in Cebu and the Visayas, in general, because Cebu is growing faster than the national economy,” he said.
The Cebu office project has a gross selling area of 90,000 square meters, of which 85,000 sq m consisted of office space while the remaining would be the retail component.
The group noted the strong market interest in the Cebu office project. To date, there are very few property developers that sell office space in prime locations as most office units are offered for lease.
Of the P30-billion capital spending budget for next year, about P6 billion will be used for the acquisition of land while the rest will be for project development.
In the pipeline are projects that will jack up Arthaland’s gross floor area to nearly 500,000 sq m from 110,000 sq m at present, Po said. The projects were estimated to cost P20 billion.
The company aims to grow its recurring income base to 35-40 percent of revenue over the next five years.
In BGC, an upscale office project beside Shangri-La at the Fort will be finished by the second quarter of next year. This will have a gross leasable area of 29,000 sq m, creating a new recurring revenue income stream for the company. About 50 percent of office space in Arthaland’s BGC office project is now committed to potential tenants.
Po said Arthaland was also negotiating to acquire two parcels of land, a 2,000-sq m lot near the Makati central business district and another in south of Metro Manila.
In Laguna, the company is building a residential community that seeks to showcase sustainable development. This project is close to Ayala Westgrove and caters to the mid- to high-end residential segment.
Arthaland, which trades on the PSE under the ticker ALCO, listed yesterday P2 billion worth of preferred shares. The offering was oversubscribed by four times the original offer.
