CapitaLand Ascendas Reit’s portfolio occupancy dips to 90.5% in Q1; rental reversion slows

[SINGAPORE] CapitaLand Ascendas Reit’s (Clar) portfolio occupancy fell to 90.5 per cent from 90.9 per cent in the preceding quarter, said its manager in a business update on Monday (Apr 27).

Changes in occupancy were mixed across the real estate investment trust’s (Reit) portfolio. Australia saw the biggest decrease, falling 1.4 percentage points from the previous quarter to 93 per cent. Clar’s manager attributed this primarily to a lease expiry for a logistics property in Melbourne.

Singapore’s portfolio occupancy dipped 0.6 percentage points quarter on quarter to 90.6 per cent. This came as occupancy within multi-tenant buildings fell 0.8 percentage points to 88.2 per cent, from 89 per cent in the quarter before, noted the manager.

Clar’s United Kingdom and Europe portfolio was a bright spot, with occupancy inching up 1.1 percentage points from the preceding quarter to 93.1 per cent. This was driven by the acquisition of six fully-occupied Grade-A logistics properties in Spain, said the manager.

In the US, occupancy climbed 0.2 percentage points quarter on quarter to 85.7 per cent.

In terms of rental performance, Clar’s average portfolio rental reversion for renewed leases fell to 10.6 per cent in Q1, from 19.6 per cent in the previous quarter.

The US recorded the highest reversion at 15.1 per cent, followed by Singapore at 10.5 per cent and Australia at 3.5 per cent. The manager noted that no renewals were signed during the period in its United Kingdom and Europe portfolio. 

For the full 2026 financial year, Clar’s manager forecasts rental reversion to be “mid single-digit”. 

The business space and industrial Reit’s portfolio weighted average lease expiry remained stable at 3.8 years.

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Meanwhile, aggregate leverage stood at 42 per cent as at Mar 31, 2026, up from 39 per cent as at Dec 31, 2025. 

The manager noted that aggregate leverage is expected to improve to around 37.3 per cent in April 2026, following an equity fund raising of S$903.5 million.

This is under the assumption that net proceeds are fully used to repay debt facilities and before the completion of the acquisitions of a 49 per cent interest in a data centre in Japan and a 100 per cent interest in 25 Loyang Crescent in Singapore.

Weighted average all-in debt cost remained steady quarter on quarter at 3.5 per cent. 

More broadly, downside risks amid the Middle East conflict dominate the macroeconomic outlook. Nevertheless, the Reit’s manager said: “With a strong balance sheet and healthy liquidity, Clar is well-positioned to leverage growth opportunities to deliver sustainable returns.”

Units of Clar closed 0.4 per cent or S$0.01 lower at S$2.54 on Monday.