Vista Land inks long-term deal with Rustan's

MANILA, Philippines - Villar-led home builder Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc., signed a long-term lease agreement with Tantoco-owned Rustan’s Supercenters Inc.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), Vista Land said Rustan’s Fresh Supermarket will be the anchor store in the first commercial building in Evia, its flagship development located in Las Piñas City.

Vista Land has already developed about 300 hectares of land in Evia, where the company currently offers residential house and lot units under its Brittany, Crown Asia, and Camella brands.

Manuel Paolo Villar, Vista Land’s chief executive officer, said: “Our company is pleased to be a partner with one of the country’s leading high-end supermarket chains, whose track record speaks for itself. We are extremely optimistic that Rustan’s will be very successful in Evia, and we look forward to other potential partnerships with the Rustan’s group in the future.”

For his part, Rustan’s president and CEO Donnie Tantoco said: “We are very optimistic about this partnership. Vista Land’s track record of success and its vision of providing quality housing for all is congruent with our own vision of bringing quality goods and experiences to every market that we enter. We look forward to the success of this development and to future projects together.”

Founded in 1998, Rustan’s Supercenters Inc. operates the Shopwise chain of hypermarkets and Rustan’s Supermarkets. It currently operates over 30 stores nationwide.

Vista Land said the move towards commercial developments in the area was part of Vista Land’s overall strategy since the residential projects have already reached “critical mass.”

Maria Leni Luya, Vista Land’s head of commercial operations, said that aside from Rustan’s, the group has also received offers from other major commercial operators that wish to set up shop in Evia.

Luya noted that the construction of a road connecting the South Luzon Expressway to Daang Hari should greatly benefit Vista Land since the Evia is one of the largest projects in the area, covering several hundred hectares.

Vista Land has earmarked P15 billion for its capital spending this year, up 15 percent from the year before. The company is also eyeing reservation sales of P28 billion to P30 billion for 2012.