Ascott Residence Trust buys Sydney serviced apartments for A$46m

ASCOTT Residence Trust (ART) has bought Quest serviced apartments in Sydney for A$46 million (S$41.5 million), which reflects a yield of mid 5 per cent.

The Quest serviced residence, in Sydney's second-largest business district of Macquarie Park, will fall under a master lease agreement and add to the stapled group's stream of stable income, said Beh Siew Kim, chief executive of ART's managers on Wednesday.

The annual rent under the master lease agreements provides an Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) yield of mid 5 per cent. It is also indexed at a 4 per cent increase each year, subject to a periodic market review, she added.

The off-market sale was negotiated by Savills Australia on behalf of seller Tuggeranong Valley Rugby Union and Sports Club.

The property, located at 71 Epping Road, Macquarie Park, is 14.7 kilometres from Sydney's central business district.

It consists of 111 serviced apartment style hotel rooms. These comprise a mix of studios, and one and two-bedroom apartments with full kitchens and laundry facilities.

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Michael Simpson, Savills Australia's managing director, hotels, said the property is located in a concentrated employment node, with a range of corporate demand drivers in immediate proximity.

"The interest and pricing reflect the highly attractive nature of Australian hotels, the high yield compared to other global markets, and the acknowledged safe-haven status of Australian real estate," he added.

Ms Beh said: "The acquisition of Quest Macquarie Park Sydney is in line with ART's strategy to enhance returns for our stapled security holders while strengthening investments in developed markets and maintaining a predominantly Asia-Pacific-centric portfolio."

ART is the stapled group formed after the merger of real estate investment trusts Ascott Residence Trust and Ascendas Hospitality Trust.

The merger was completed on Dec 31, 2019. Following that, Ascendas Hospitality Trust was delisted from the Singapore Exchange and unstapled.

ART stapled securities were trading at S$1.02 as at 10.04am on Thursday, down S$0.07 or 6.4 per cent.