Cambridge Industrial Trust buys business park for S$28m

CAMBRIDGE Industrial Trust is acquiring a business park for S$28 million, in its first foray into the space.

The business park in Jurong East - 16 International Business Park - has three storeys, with a mezzanine and a basement carpark. It has a gross floor area of about 6,434 square metres and a remaining land lease of about 41.6 years, and is located near the Jurong East MRT station, the Pan Island Expressway and the Ayer Rajah Expressway.

After completion of the deal, expected by year-end, CIT will lease the property back to the vendor M+W Singapore for 11.6 years, with an option to renew for two consecutive five-year terms after that.

The total cost of the acquisition will amount to S$30.9 million, including the S$28 million consideration, S$2.5 million for an upfront land premium to JTC, and an acquisition fee of S$0.3 million to be paid to the manager, as well as S$0.1 million in professional fees.

This will be funded through cash and existing debt facilities.

Said CEO of CIT Management Limited Philip Levinson: "CIT has been actively identifying opportunities in the Singapore business park sector for some time... The long WALE (weighted average lease to expiry) of this property further supports and meets our objective of delivering secure and stable long-term distributions to unitholders."

The property was valued by Colliers International at S$28 million on Oct 1.

CIT last closed at 68 Singapore cents on Friday.