Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust (Ascendas REIT) will soon own 212 properties across Australia, Singapore, the US and UK/Europe.

The latest purchase will see the REIT purchase a 75 percent stake in a business park property in Singapore, which is held by its sponsor and partner in the project, CapitaLand.

Ascendas REIT acquaired an initial 25 per cent in Galaxis – a six-year-old commercial project in the city’s One-North tech park – in March 2020, with the SGX-listed company expected to pay $A525 million for 100 per cent ownership.

Galaxis currently provides much of the office space for the NYSE-listed parent of e-commerce giant Shopee.

Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust chairman Beh Swan Gin said the trust was excited to add Galaxis to its portfolio.

‘It is a top-notch, high-end business park property that is strategically located with excellent connectivity in One-North,” he said.

“Galaxis is a prime example of the type of assets that Ascendas REIT looks to acquire to achieve a stable, long-term revenue stream.”

Executive director William Tay added the purchase shows continued faith in demand for Singapore office space among corporate giants.

“Following the acquisition of our initial 25 per cent interest in Galaxis in March 2020, this proposed acquisition will allow Ascendas REIT to have full ownership of the property,” he said.

“It will enlarge the business and science park portfolio in Singapore by 18 per cent to $A4.74 billion and increase the number of properties we have in the vibrant One-North business park to five2 .”

Galaxis encompasses a 17-storey business park and office tower, a five-storey work lofts building and a two-storey retail podium.

It’s 60,935 sqm of net lettable area includes 44,556 sqm of business park space, 10,305 sqm of office space, 4,106 sqm of retail and F&B space and 1,968 sqm of work lofts.

The occupancy rate as of March was 98.6 per cent, and the weighted average lease expiry was 2.4 years.