Two more malls have joined the Croesus Japan mall portfolio in deals worth JPY6110 million (US$56.23 million).
This marks the Croesus Retail Trust maiden entry into Saga prefecture in southern Japan and Hokkaido in northern Japan, where it is buying Mallage Saga and Feeeal Asahikawa respectively. This will give CRT a portfolio of 11 retail assets across Japan with a total value of JPY106,450 million.
At the junction of three major roads, Mallage Sagais is a suburban shopping mall with a net lettable area of 46,650 sqm and 132 tenants in the F&B, interior goods, men’s and women’s fashion and entertainment sectors. Connected to Nagasaki Expressway, the property has 2032 parking lots, and it is also accessible by the JR Nagasaki Mainline, a major intercity train route.
Opening in 2003, the mall had an occupancy rate of 97.7 per cent as at December 31. Its key tenants include 109 Cinemas, Food Way, Mr Max and Sanki.
Feeeal Asahikawa is a large-scale shopping centre with a net lettable area of 19,763 sqm and with 62 retail tenants comprising a mix of food and groceries, fashion and accessories, education services and financial/insurance sectors. There are also two office tenants.
About four minutes’ walking distance from JR Asahikawa Station on the JR Hokodate Honsen Line, the centre has high visibility on Heiwa-dori Kaimono Koen Shopping Street, Japan’s first pedestrian-only thoroughfare. Key tenants include the Asahikawa City government, bookstore chain Junkudo and customer relations management consultancy Bell System 24. At the end of last year, the centre had an occupancy rate of 97.9 per cent.
CRT, managed by Croesus Retail Asset Management, acquired multi-level department store Fuji Grand Natalie in Hiroshima last month at a cost of JPY3.3 billion.
Solid growth
Meanwhile, Croesus Retail Trust has recorded 21.2 per cent growth in its latest quarter to JPY1408.6 million from JPY1162.7 million in the same period last year.
Its gross revenue of JPY2465.6 million was 24.4 per cent higher than the JPY1982.3 million of 2015’s third quarter. The company attributes this mainly to the contribution from the Torius shopping centre in Fukuoka, which was acquired in October, and increased earnings from a tenant renewal exercise at Mallage Shobu in Yubinbango, Saitama prefecture.
For the nine months ended March 31, CRT’s gross revenue of JPY6905.8 million came in 22.3 per cent higher than the JPY5646.8 million for the previous corresponding period. Another acquisition, of One’s Mall in Chiba also contributed to topline growth.
CRT has nine retail properties in Japan – Aeon Town Moriya, Aeon Town Suzuka, Croesus Shinsaibashi, Croesus Tachikawa, Luz Omori, Mallage Shobu, One’s Mall, Torius and Fuji Grand Natalie. Five of these are in the Greater Tokyo area.
