Vistamalls, Inc. and the commercial division of Vista Land & Lifescapes, Inc. (the Group) reported that their combined 101 commercial assets are all open with 95 percent of leased spaces operational as government-imposed restrictions started to ease.
The Group’s leasing assets are comprised of 31 malls, 63 commercial centers, and 7 BPO office spaces with a total of 1.5 million square meters of gross floor area (GFA).
“Our commercial spaces were designed to operate alongside e-commerce from the beginning by having anchor tenants that are considered essential such as home improvement stores, supermarkets, and food establishments,” Vista Land and Vistamalls Chairman Manuel B. Villar, Jr. said.
The strategy unexpectedly made the Group’s commercial assets pandemic proof as well.
“During GCQ, 79 percent of our GFA was already operating and it has increased to 95 percent at present due to the further easing of quarantine restrictions by the government, as most of our tenants are providing essential services during this pandemic,” he added.
For the first nine months of the year, the Group generated rental revenues of P4.9 billion or a 10 percent decrease from the same period last year.
Compared to most of the industry players, the Group attributes its better results to the nature of its tenants as well as the captive market it enjoys since 75 percent of its commercial assets are located within the Vista Land communities.
The pandemic has greatly affected the leasing economy but BPO office spaces showed a lot of promise and resilience amid the health crisis.
“In our case, fifteen percent of our GFA is composed of BPO offices with an occupancy rate of 99 percent. This, in addition to the improving performance of our malls suggests the great potential of doing a Real Estate Investments Trust (REIT) with our current leasing portfolio,” said Vistamalls President Manuel Paolo A. Villar.
He noted that, “The Group’s rental revenues for the first nine months of 2020 though have decreased by 10 percent year on year, still demonstrate our portfolio’s strong fundamentals and ability to quickly recover once this health crisis is over.”
“We share in the optimism that despite the current global economic downturn, our economy has the capacity to recover quickly, and the Group, in partnership with all its commercial and retail establishments will continually make the necessary adjustments to navigate effectively in the new normal and to be in a better position as the economy improves,” he added.(James A. Loyola)