Ayala Land sells Oakwood for P2.7 billion

Ayala Hotels Inc., a subsidiary of property giant Ayala Land Inc. (ALI), together with Ocmador Philippines B.V., sold for P2.7 billion their combined equity interest of 100 percent in Oakwood Premier Ayala Center, a deluxe apartment within the Makati Central Business district.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, ALI said Oakwood was sold to Ascott Residence Trust (ATR), part of Singapore-listed property developer CapitaLand Ltd. and the first Pan-Asian serviced residence real estate investment trust (REIT).

Oakwood became famous after the building was seized on July 27, 2003 by more than 300 rebel soldiers who staged a mutiny against the government. Oakwood’s staff quickly evacuated all guests and employees to safety, and no one was injured.

Ocmador is a special purpose vehicle of ING Real Estate.

It held a 40 percent interest in Makati Property Ventures Inc., the owner of Oakwood Premier Ayala Center.

ALI said the sale is part of the group’s strategy to dispose of its non-core assets in order to maximize shareholder value.

ALI said Oakwood will continue to operate the apartment until March 22, 2007, and then management will transfer to the Ascott Group, which has an extensive portfolio of close to 17,000 serviced residence units in key cities of the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and the Middle East.

"We would like to thank Oakwood Asia Pacific for the many years of close partnership. In performing their role as operator of the property for more than six years, they have made the serviced apartment the place of choice for both local and international guests, with Oakwood Premier turning in exceptional performance in terms of occupancy and room rate," said Jaime Ayala, president of ALI and Ayala Hotels.

For his part, PG Mathew, managing director of Oakwood Asia Pacific, said the Oakwood group looks forward to reentering the Philippines soon.

"We are very sad to say goodbye to this property, but the Oakwood Premier brand will continue to grow," said Mathew, noting that in 2007 new Oakwood apartments will open in Tokyo, Bangalore, Mumbai, Bangkok and Jakarta.

Oakwood Premier Ayala Center first opened in 1999, and was both Manila’s first luxury serviced residence and the inaugural property of the Oakwood Premier luxury brand.

Oakwood Premier Ayala Center was honored in 2003 with the Kalakbay Award, the highest award from the Philippines’ Department of Tourism, in recognition of exceptional achievement in hospitality.

Oakwood Asia Pacific is part of Oakwood Worldwide, the global leader in serviced apartments with more than 20,000 serviced units located throughout North America, Asia, and Europe.

Just recently, ALI purchased an additional 4.81 percent stake in Bonifacio Land Corp. for P336.4 million, to up its stake to 37.23 percent.

The company plans to divest some of its real estate properties that are no longer considered strategic positions for the group. It has a total land bank of 4,159 hectares, consisting of four components: Makati (54 hectares), Bonifacio Global City (44 hectares), Canlubang (1,696 hectares) and 2,365 hectares in other parts of the country.

ALI is considering selling 400 hectares of its existing real estate assets.

It is planning to develop more build-to-suit office buildings outside the Makati Central Business District.

To broaden market reach and tap the growing market of overseas-based Filipinos, ALI will continue to launch new residential projects for the middle-income and mass housing markets and continue to roll out new phases in existing projects including Ayala Westgrove Heights, Ayala Greenfield Estates and Serendra.