Century Properties secures $30M funding from int'l private equity firm

Century Properties Group Inc has secured funding for its mixed-use tower in Makati from an affiliate of one of the world's largest private equity fund managers.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the property company of former ambassador Jose EB Antonio said wholly owned subsidiary Century City Development Corp signed a $30-million secured facility agreement with Golden First Century Pte Ltd.

Golden First is an affiliate of Phoenix Property Investors, which has approximately $4.7 billion of assets under management.

Phoenix invests on behalf of some of the world’s leading institutional investors and its portfolio consists mainly of multi-residential developments, retail and office properties in key gateway cities across Asia. It has offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Taipei and Tokyo.

Proceeds from the facility will be used to partly finance the development of Century Spire located in Century Properties' vertical mixed-use community Century City in Makati City.

The 60-storey Century Spire will have 98,954 square meters of gross floor area, over 500 residential units, and 27,047 square meters of gross office space that will be retained by Century for commercial leasing.

Century Properties is launching P9.5 billion worth of residential and office developments in the second half of the year. The projects are Forbes Media Tower in Century City, the sixth tower at Acqua Private Residences in Mandaluyong and the first residential tower at Azure North in Pampanga, its first project outside Metro Manila.

Century Properties' profit rose 3 percent year-on-year to P513.06 million in the first quarter from P500.56 million in 2013. Consolidated revenues jumped by a tenth to P2.85 billion from P2.60 billion over the same period.

- Interaksyon

Century Properties to roll out P9.5B worth of residential, office projects in 2H

Century Properties Group Inc is launching P9.5 billion worth of residential and office developments in the second half of the year.

Century Properties director for investor relations Kristina Garcia told reporters last week that the projects that will be rolled out are the Forbes Media Tower in Century City, the sixth tower at Acqua Private Residences in Mandaluyong, and the first residential tower at Azure North in Pampanga.

The property company of former ambassador Jose EB Antonio has budgeted P8-9 billion in capital expenditures this year for its projects.

Century Properties will generate P5.5 billion from the sale of 40,000 square meters of office space at Forbes Media Tower, the first of a network of Forbes-branded projects around the world. The office tower will have a total gross floor area of 64,000 square meters and the remaining 24,000 square meters will be leased out to tenants to boost the recurring income Century Properties.

Forbes Media Tower and Century Spire, a 60-storey residential and office tower, will complete the premium office block in Century City, the property developer's vertical village in the country's premier financial district.

Century Properties expects P2.2 billion in sales from the residential component of the sixth tower of Acqua, which will also house a condotel.

The real estate developer will introduce the maiden residential offering in Azure North with an estimated sales value of P1.8 billion.

Azure North is an eight-hectare mixed-use development in Pampanga that will feature residential, commercial, and office components. This is Century Properties’ first project outside Metro Manila.

Century Properties' profit rose 3 percent to P513.06 million in the first quarter from P500.56 million in the same period last year. Consolidated revenues jumped by a tenth to P2.85 billion from P2.60 billion a year ago.

- Interaksyon

Real estate sales prop up Century Properties' Jan-Mar net income

Strong sales propped up Century Properties Group' first-quarter profit.

In a financial report, the property company of former ambassador Jose EB Antonio said its net income rose three percent to P513.06 million in the January to March period from P500.56 million in the same three months of last year.
The company attributed the increase to the growth in real estate sales, which accounted for bulk of its revenues of P2.85 billion, up 10 percent from P2.60 billion in 2013.

Revenues from real estate sales reached P2.39 billion, an eight percent increase from P2.21 billion the previous year.

"Such growth is attributable to a continued increase in project sales, as well as healthy collection statistics across all its residential segments," Century Properties said.

Collections were derived from completion of the Knightsbridge Residences project in Century City and turnover of its Rio, Santorini, St. Tropez towers at the Azure Residences.
There have, likewise, been increased construction accomplishments in Century City in Makati, Acqua Private Residences in Mandaluyong, and the Residences at Commonwealth in Quezon City.

Century Properties also disclosed that revenues from its property management arm, Century Properties Management Inc (CPMI), increased 11 percent at P71.70 million from P64.50 million the prior year.

CMPI is the largest independent property manager in the country today, with 49 buildings totaling 2.6 million square meters under management. Notable projects under management include the Asian Development Bank, Makati Medical Center, and Pacific Star Building.
The company said pre-sales amounted to P5.3 billion, of which 69 percent consisted of affordable projects or units priced below P3.6 million.

Another 22 percent comprised middle income projects or units priced between P3.7 million and P7.2 million, and nine percent were luxury projects or units priced above P7.3 million.

Sales from the luxury segment include sales generated from the company’s latest project called Century Spire, a 60-story residential and office tower. The architecture was designed by Daniel Libeskind, the master plan architect for the reconstruction of the Ground Zero in New York City.

Armani/Casa Interior Design Studio will do interiors for the amenities and common areas. Century Spire’s groundbreaking will be held on May 28 at Century City, with Daniel Libeskind and the Armani/Casa team in attendance.

In addition to Century Spire, the company will soon launch a sixth tower at its Acqua project, as well as a residential tower at its Pampanga site, which will be called Azure North. The launch of Azure North will be Century Properties’ first project outside of Metro Manila.

Aside from its residential business, Century Properties has been focused on building its investment portfolio for recurring income, the first of which was the recently opened Century City Mall. 
The mall has a net leasable area of 17,000 square meters and is 99 percent leased and 100 percent reserved. Of the 110 retail outlets, 80 will be open by the end of May.

Other projects in the pipeline include Centuria Medical Makati, which will be completed at the end of the year; Forbes Media Tower and Century Spire, which will complete the premium office block in Century City; an office building in Bonifacio Global City to be completed by 2017; and Acqua 6 at its Acqua development.

The company expects roughly 110,000 square meters of gross floor area from the said projects.

 

- Interakyon

Makati court junks Century Properties' bid to stop termination of Okada casino deal

Century Properties Group Inc lost a court battle against Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada over their agreement for an integrated resort project in Entertainment City.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the property company of former ambassador Jose EB Antonio said the Regional Trial Court of Makati issued an order denying and dismissing Century Properties' petition for interim measures of protection against the Okada group.

"We are still seeking the advice of our legal counsel and studying our legal options," Century Properties said in a statement when asked to comment on the court order.

In a statement posted on its website, Okada-led Universal Entertainment Corp said the court junked Century Properties' petition for "lack of merit."

In March, the Philippine property firm obtained a court order preventing the Okada group from terminating their investment agreement for the $2-billion Manila Bay Resorts project. Last month, the real estate company secured a 20-day extension of the court ruling that will expire on May 13.

The initial court order required the Okada group to produce all documents and information that Century Properties will need to complete its due diligence, extend the due diligence and closing periods, and refrain from dealing with any other party for the development of a five-hectare portion of the property.

The Okada group stopped negotiations with Century Properties after privately held First Paramount Holdings 888 withdrew from the agreement.

The agreement would have given Century Properties and First Paramount a combined 60 percent stake in Eagle 1, which holds the 44-hectare property on which the Manila Bay Resorts would rise. Eagle 1 is owned by Tiger Resort Leisure & Entertainment Inc, a unit of Universal Entertainment.

Century Properties had claimed the pullout of First Paramount should not have rendered the deal ineffective because provisions under the investment agreement provide alternative measures to exhaust all reasonable means to close the deal.

Despite the dispute with Century Properties, Manila Bay Resorts is on track to open in the third quarter of 2015, Tiger Resort had said.

The Okada group has long been in search for a local partner to partly address issues on foreign ownership of land. Earlier negotiations with Robinsons Land Corp of the Gokongwei family and Empire East Land Holdings Inc of billionaire Andrew Tan fell through.

- Interaksyon