Lendlease Global Commercial REIT Raises Stake In Jem
SINGAPORE – After obtaining pre-emptive rights last October, Lendlease Global Commercial REIT (LREIT) is increasing its stake in Jem, a shopping mall situated in the heart of Jurong Gateway with 12 levels of prime office space, according to local bourse filings on Monday morning (7 June, SGT).
In particular, the buyer has agreed to acquire a 53.0 percent stake in Lendlease Jem Partners Fund Ltd (LLJP) from third party vendors for S$159.1 million.
LREIT has also committed to buy an additional 5 percent interest in Lendlease Asian Retail Investment Fund 3 Ltd (ARIF3) from Lendlease International Pty Ltd for S$45.0 million. Moreover, the trust may acquire an additional stake of up to 19.8 percent in ARIF3 from other third-party investors for S$178.2 million.
Notably, LLJP holds a 25 percent stake in Jem, while ARIF3 owns 75 percent of the commercial property.
Upon completion of the transaction, LREIT will hold an effective indirect interest of up to 31.8 percent in Jem, with the trust forking out a purchase consideration of between S$204.1 million and S$337.3 million for the additional stakes.
At present, LREIT holds a 5 percent stake in ARIF3 that the trust purchased in October 2020. The latest deal is also based on Jem’s agreed market value of S$2.077 billion.
Located in Singapore’s 2nd central business district (CBD), the Jurong Lake District (JLD), Jem is an integrated office and retail development. It has a net leasable area (NLA) of 892,148 sq ft and committed occupancy level of 99.7 percent. It has a weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of 6.5 years in terms of gross rental income.
Specifically, it has about 344,445 sq ft of prime office space spread over 12 storeys that is 100 percent leased to Singapore’s Ministry of National Development (MND), with a long WALE of 24 years.
“With the expected office decentralisation trend and the adoption of remote working, Jem will be particularly well-positioned as it provides conveniently located good quality office spaces near residential communities,” LREIT noted.
Furthermore, the mixed-use project is a recipient of the Green Mark Platinum Award from Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority (BCA). It also comes with a sky garden on level 17 and has direct access to the Jurong East MRT station.
