Two of the assets in Wee Hur's portfolio of purpose-built student accommodation assets in Australia - Piccadilly Grand at Northumberland Farrer Park By CDL & MCL Land (Hot Launch 2022)

Hong Lai Huat makes progress in the construction for Royal Platinum in Cambodia

Investors are optimistic about Wee Hur Holdings’ latest developments as shares of the company rose 11.11% to an intra-day and 52-week peak of 22 cents from its closing value at 19.8 cents on the 22nd of April 2022.

The same day, Wee Hur Holdings announced that it had sold the 49.9% stake in its Australia purpose-built Student Accommodation (PBSA) portfolio to A$567.9 millions ($573.6 million) The value of the total collection at A$1.14 billion.

This stake is bought through a buyer that is supported by an international institutional investor.

On the 21st of April, Wee Hur Capital, the company’s wholly owned subsidiary, along with the remaining holders of the Wee Hur PBSA Master Trust (WHPMT) have entered into an agreement for the sale of units in conjunction with Reco Weather Private Limited.

This 49.9% stake comprises 9.9% from Wee Hur’s first 60% stake. The remainder of the 40% is owned by other unitholders of the trust master. It is estimated that the 9.9% of the units comprise 1.24 million units. Meanwhile, the 40% that are held by other unitholders total 4.99 millions of units.

In the wake of the transaction, Wee Hur and Reco Weather will own a 50.1% and 49.9% stake in the trust’s master trust.

The trust was created in the name of Wee Hur back in the month of December of 2016 to implement PBSA in Australia through the development of an array of up to 5,000 beds across Australia’s largest cities.

A total of 350 million dollars was put into the trust through Wee Hur Capital, which was also the trustee of the trust.

The portfolio is currently comprised of 5,662 beds spread across seven PBSA assets that span Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Canberra. Four of the properties are operational , and the remaining three are expected to be completed by the end of 2023.

The transaction is expected to be completed in three stages of settlement based on the date when the properties are completed. Wee Hur also has a second PBSA fund that holds one parcel that is located in Sydney which will be developed into a 410-bed PBSA asset in a couple of years from now.

According to the announcement from Wee Hur, the transaction strengthens the track record of the company with regard to its PBSA segment in Australia. The company has been building its portfolio since 2015, by buying greenfield properties and taking the development risk according to the statement.

In relation to the divestment Goh Wee Ping, CEO of Wee Hur Capital says, “We believe that, given our vast expertise and understanding of the built environment that this was the ideal option to execute our investment strategy of addressing the housing for students shortage at the time and now our efforts are paying off.”

Goh Yeow Lian the chief executive officer of Wee Hur adds, “We are thrilled to have completed an investment recapitalisation for our first Australia targeted PBSA fund. This fund will provide an exit plan for our investors during the term of the fund and also giving a reserve fund to the company by recycling a part of the capital should investment opportunities come up. We also are pleased to have a new partner in the fold and are looking forward to further partnerships in the near future.”

Goh Also thanked Wee Hur’s investors, in particular the “investors of the fund who endured the difficult times we’ve faced during the past 2 year.” Special thanks is also given to the investment manager of the company from Australia, Intergen Property Group Intergen Property Group, who “played an essential role in helping us to build the portfolio starting from scratch from the very beginning of our fund”.

In addition to the announcement, Wee Hur has also announced the launch of its own PBSA hospitality brand, Y Suites, for its PBSA portfolio in 2020. The initial two properties operating by Y Suites are Y Suites on Waymouth and Y Suites on A’Beckett, where both have been operational since January 2022.