New asset infusion to boost MREIT portfolio by 46%

MANILA  -MREIT Inc., the real estate investment trust (REIT) company of Megaworld Corp., is expanding its portfolio by nearly half with the acquisition of seven grade A office towers located in Bonifacio Global City, Iloilo and Davao.

In a disclosure on Thursday, the Megaworld unit said it was eyeing to purchase these office assets—which generated a total of P1.2 billion in rental income last year—from the parent company.

These sprawl around 150,500 square meters (sqm) in gross leasable areas.

The parties inked a memorandum of understanding for the infusion of assets into MREIT.

These include Two West Campus and Ten West Campus in McKinley Hill, Science Hub Tower 3 and Tower 4 in McKinley West, One Fintech Place and Two Fintech Place in Iloilo Business Park, and Davao Finance Center in Davao Park District.

“These properties boast high average occupancy rate of 94 percent and quality tenants, marking a significant step towards our commitment to deliver sustained growth and value to our investors,” MREIT president and CEO Kevin Tan said.

The acquisition will boost MREIT’s portfolio by 46 percent to 475,000 sqm. It has a goal of having 500,000 sqm of assets under management by end of next year.

“Over the coming weeks, our team will work alongside our sponsor, Megaworld Corp., to conduct comprehensive financial, legal and technical due diligence to ensure the viability of the assets
with a goal to execute definite agreements within the third quarter of the year,” Tan said.

The official hopes to finalize the purchase of the office assets “soon.”

Company portfolio

The REIT company’s portfolio currently has 18 office properties across four Megaworld townships. These are: 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.

In the first quarter, MREIT saw its distributable income rise by 12 percent to P713 million following the purchase of P5.3 million worth of grade A offices from Megaworld. It declared dividends of P0.2476 per share, which are payable on June 19.

“The office industry is resilient and remains an important growth story for our nation,” Tan previously said.

—TYRONE JASPER C. PIAD