Robinson 77 up for sale at $725m

Another 74.5 years are left on the lease with the building 91% occupied.

The former building of Singapore Airlines (SIA), Robinson 77, has been put up for sale by CLSA Real Estate for $725m, up from the $530.8m purchase price in 2016 and following a major revamp of the 35-storey office building, DBS Equity Research said, citing media reports.

The building’s net leasable area (NLA) stands at 307,585 sqft, which is an increase from 293,269 sqft when CLSA first acquired the building. The second-storey carpark was converted into 15,000 sqft of NLA.

Another 74.5 years are left on the land lease with the building 91% occupied. Major tenants include Adidas, NTUC Link, Sony Pictures, Coach, DVB Bank, and Ernst & Young.

Based on the $725m price, this would translate to a net yield of 3-3.5% in the first year after the acquisition, noted DBS Equity Research analyst Mervin Song. “The potential sale of Robinson 77 on a forward yield of 3-3.5% and exit yield of sub-3% once again highlights the resiliency and strength of capital values of Singapore office buildings,” he said.

If Robinson 77 is sold at the asking price, it would follow the tight yields for office buildings over the last 12-18 months such as 55 Market Street (sold) with a 1.7% exit yield and Twenty Anson (sold) with a 2.7% exit yield.

“These transactions/potential transactions also indicate that office REITs remain undervalued, trading at close to or below book values that are ‘conservative,’” Song added. The office buildings owned by office REITs are generally in more prime locations and are valued using cap rates of between 3.5-4%.

“Thus, we retain our overweight stance on Office REITs not only for the discount to book values but also the leverage to an expected multi-year upturn in office rents given modest new supply over the next three to four years,” he added.

The people you want to reach are already in this room.

Every quarter, SBR lands on the desks of the founders, CFOs, and directors running Asia's most consequential companies. Every day, they open our newsletter and read our website. It's a room that took twenty years to build — and it's the one most of our partners are trying to get into.

The good news is that the door is open. We work with companies on thought leadership articles, sponsored content, industry summits across Southeast Asia, regional awards programmes, podcasts, and media placements in print and digital. The shape of the right partnership depends on what you're trying to do, which is why we'd rather start with a conversation than send a rate card.

If you have something this room should know about, tell us. We'll tell you honestly whether we can help, and how.

No rate cards until we understand the brief. It's a better use of everyone's time.

Book a meeting

| Or download the media kit (PDF)

240,000 senior readers quarterly in print Top 1,700 Singapore companies reached

7 markets across Southeast Asia