The Ascott Limited (Ascott), a lodging business unit wholly owned by CapitaLand Investment (CLI) and CapitaLand Wellness Fund(C-WELL), have jointly acquired a freehold lodging property in Singapore. Ascott and C-WELL each holds a 50 per cent stake in the lodging property.
C-WELL is CLI’s inaugural wellness and healthcare-related real estate fund anchored in Southeast Asia. The value-add fund will focus initially on Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia. With a target fund size of S$1bn on an upsized option, C-WELL will invest in single or mixed-used assets that span the healthcare, medical, wellness and preventive care spectrum.
Located in Singapore’s downtown core district within walking distance to both Bugis and Bencoolen MRT train stations, the 308-unit property will be upgraded and rebranded under Ascott’s award-winning lyf (pronounced ‘life’) brand as demand for experience-led social living grows. The property will remain operational throughout the renovation period and be unveiled as lyf Bugis Singapore in mid-2024.
Mr Kevin Goh, Chief Executive Officer for Ascott and CLI Lodging, said: “As a vertically-integrated global lodging business with a strong foothold in Asia, Ascott is able to leverage our full suite of real estate investment and management capabilities to grow our portfolio and expand our fee income streams. The acquisition is aligned with Ascott’s asset-light growth strategy, as we invest alongside our funds while growing a pipeline of quality assets that can be subsequently injected into our other funds. Tapping on our strong deal-sourcing abilities, we have added a strategically located freehold asset to our portfolio in our home ground of Singapore. With the rebranding of the property under the lyf brand coupled with Ascott’s award-winning operational expertise, lyf Bugis Singapore is well-positioned to capture travel demand while uplifting the value of the asset.”
