Landco Pacific ups bid for lead role in property sector

Landco Pacific Corp., the leisure property unit of Metro Pacific Corp., is aiming to become a leading player in the real estate industry in the next five years as it seeks to build a track record of highly successful developments, underpinned by a strong financial base and organization.

Landco president and chief executive officer Alfred Xerez-Burgos said the company is developing new projects that will strengthen the company’s financial muscle and increase shareholder value.

In 2000, the company embarked on a five-year plan to achieve a stable operating platform. It now has a total of 21 projects nationwide, consisting of high-end residential resorts, leisure farms, residential developments in key provincial cities, shopping centers and central business districts, and memorial parks.

Burgos said the firm intends to launch more leisure tourism development projects including Playa Calatagan and Hacienda Escudero.

Playa Calatagan in Batangas is 62-hectare residential resort being groomed as the Boracay of Luzon, while Hacienda Escudero is a mixed-use residential, leisure and commercial development located in a 400-hectare property in Quezon province.

According to Burgos, Landco needs P4.3 billion in the next three years to bankroll its expansion. Of this amount, P2.2 billion will come from new equity while the remaining P2.1 billion will be sourced from internally-generated funds.

Burgos said the company expects to sign potential joint venture deals valued at P65 billion involving 2,500 hectares of land. Landco, he said, has sold over P18 billion worth of real estate projects since 1995.

He said the company also plans to build four malls in key emerging cities in the next five years to add to its three malls in Legaspi, Cabanatuan, and Lucena.

The malls are estimated to cost the company P600 million each.

The malls, according to Burgos, will have an average gross floor area of 55,000 square meters on an average of 12 hectares of land. "We plan to build another Greenhills in the provinces," he said.

With all these projects in place, Burgos said Landco’s revenues are expected to grow five-fold in five years.

Among its completed projects are Canyon Woods Residential Resort; Peninsula de Punta Fuego (an exclusive seaside community along the coast of Nasugbu, Batangas); Leisure Farms in Lemery, Batangas; Ponderosa Leisure Farms, a flower garden residential development in Silang Cavite.