CLAR partners with The Work Project to bring new flexible workspaces to 1A Science Park Drive

SINGAPORE: CapitaLand Ascendas REIT (CLAR) announced that Sprint Plot 1 Trust (SP1), in which it owns a 34% stake, has entered agreements with The Work Project Management Pte. Ltd. (TWP) to bring new flexible workspaces to 1A Science Park Drive, part of the “Geneo” life sciences and innovation cluster in Singapore Science Park 1, as reported by Singapore Business Review.

TWP, associated with Temasek Holdings and an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of CapitaLand Group, will manage the design and fit-out of the flexible workspaces for three and a half months at an expected cost of about S$239,000, with an estimated additional S$401,000 for consultancy reimbursements.

The company will also manage and operate the workspaces’ facilities, marketing services, and other administrative services under a five-year management contract, which commenced on Friday (Sep 5), estimated to be approximately S$3.2 million.

Under SGX rules, the transaction is classified as an interested person transaction (IPT) as Temasek is a controlling unitholder of CLAR.

With this project included, the total value of IPTs between CLAR and Temasek for the current financial year stands at around S$769.5 million, including approved transactions.

According to the REIT’s manager, Temasek holds an 18.23% deemed interest in CLAR through its subsidiaries.

CLAR said it appointed TWP because of its track record and experience in the project management and day-to-day property management functions of co-working spaces across Singapore, Hong Kong, Melbourne, London, Sydney, Perth, and Brisbane. In Singapore, TWP has 72 staff and operates 10 co-working spaces with a combined area of about 350,000 square feet (sq ft).

Independent adviser PrimePartners Corporate Finance Pte. Ltd said the terms were “normal commercial terms and are not prejudicial to the interests of CLAR and its minority unitholder”. /TISG

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