UK: Elite Commercial REIT, a UK-focused Singapore investment vehicle, has revealed plans to reposition several properties in its portfolio to support its expansion into the BTR and PBSA sectors.
Elite said several “high-potential high-yield assets” had been identified for repositioning, mostly office buildings to be converted to homes or data centres. These include Lindsay House in Dundee, an apartment building with potential for conversion to a PBSA scheme.
Elite REIT announced its UK living sector strategy last month, saying it would give it the flexibility to “tap into a larger pool of investment targets”. In its investment report it said it would leverage the strategic location of its properties, either holding onto them for redevelopment into other uses, or selling them subject to approval of local authorities.
The REIT said it also planned to use the experience and expertise of Sunway RE Capital, one of its sponsors, as part of this expansion. Sunway is active in the UK PBSA sector, owning a portfolio of student assets in Bristol, Manchester, Sheffield, and Southampton.
Joshua Liaw, chief executive of the Elite Commercial REIT Management, said: “While market uncertainty persists, we have reinforced our capital structure with new credit facilities and have started putting our asset repositioning strategies into action. With our expanded investment mandate to include the defensive living sector, we have identified several potential opportunities in our portfolio. The UK student housing market and BTR segments are facing a supply-demand imbalance, which presents an opportunity for our assets to be repositioned to fill this gap. We remain focused on bolstering our foundation for future growth.”
