The internal management model’s uphill task in gaining traction among Singapore Reits

[SINGAPORE] Giving birth to a listed real estate investment trust (Reit) with an internal manager in the Singapore market dominated by Reits and business trusts that have external managers is proving to be an arduous process.

At an extraordinary general meeting held on Aug 7, 2023, Sabana Industrial Reit’s unitholders voted to oust its external manager Sabana Real Estate Investment Management and have an internal manager wholly owned by the trustee. The trustee’s role is to act on behalf of unitholders.

Two years have passed, and an internal manager has yet to take over managing Sabana Reit. Meanwhile, internalisation costs have cumulatively amounted to S$12.2 million as at end-June this year.