Treasury Holdings-backed Creo may list on Singapore exchange

TREASURY HOLDINGS-backed property investor China Real Estate Opportunities (Creo) is considering taking a listing on Singapore’s stock market.

Creo is currently listed on the London market, where the shares closed down 2.36 per cent yesterday at £3.51.

The company’s net asset value is in excess of £10. In a statement yesterday, it said that “with a view to narrowing the gap”, the board and its advisers have been considering a number of options, including taking a listing on a recognised stock exchange in Asia.

“More specifically, the board has identified Singapore as its preferred listing location and a ‘business trust’ structure under Singapore law as the likely structure,” it said yesterday.

“Subject to ongoing communication with shareholders and the relevant regulators, the company intends to proceed with this proposal within the next six months.”

Creo said that Singapore’s business trusts structure allow greater flexibility on development limits and debt-to-assets ratios than a real-estate trust structure.

“The company intends to engage with its shareholders to elicit their feedback on this proposal, which is at an advanced exploratory stage,” it added.

Creo released a trading update yesterday showing that the gross value of its property portfolio on December 31st stood at £837 million, an increase of 7.35 per cent on the £780 million valuation it recorded six months previously.

It said 212 leases expired during the year, representing over 50 per cent of its entire tenancy base, 55 per cent of these were renewed, and 15 per cent moved out as part of a repositioning programme.

It took on 60 new tenants, including Metlife Insurance, Prudential Insurance and Johnson Johnson, leaving it with 85 per cent occupancy at the end of the year, 6 per cent less than 12 months earlier. It earned gross increases on rent per square foot of between 2 per cent and 5 per cent.

It is set to receive £34 million from the sale of its interest in a project in Tangdao Bay on China’s east coast and intends returning £15 million to shareholders.

The John Ronan and Richard Barrett-controlled Treasury Holdings is Creo’s biggest shareholder.