ESR Cayman Limited, APAC’s largest real asset manager powered by the New Economy, today announced a built-to-suit (“BTS”) redevelopment project for POKKA Logistics Singapore Pte. Ltd. (“POKKA”), a 100% subsidiary of POKKA SAPPORO Food & Beverage Ltd., a leading manufacturer and marketer of ready-to-drink beverages under the brand “POKKA” with operations in over 50 countries across Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

The project is a redevelopment of POKKA’s existing single storey warehouse located at 4 Benoi Crescent which has been in operations for over 30 years. ESR will partner with PGIM Real Estate’s Asia core strategy to invest approximately US$100 million to acquire the leasehold rights of the site from POKKA and develop a circa 64,490 sqm, five-storey, best-in-class warehouse facility to be completed in Q1 2024. POKKA has committed a 10-year lease of a minimum of 70% of the building space, with an option for further extensions.

PGIM Real Estate is the real estate investment and financing business of PGIM, the US$1.5 trillion global investment management business of Prudential Financial, Inc.

Jeffrey Shen and Stuart Gibson, Co-founders and Co-CEOs of ESR, said: “This is an exciting opportunity for ESR as we leverage our unrivalled development expertise to support POKKA’s business needs by creating space that’s designed to achieve energy efficiency and increase productivity. We are also very delighted to establish our first partnership with PGIM Real Estate to invest together in the robust market of Singapore where we see excellent market fundamentals and ongoing strong demand for quality assets.”

Benett Theseira, PGIM Real Estate’s head of Asia Pacific commented, “As Singapore’s economy continues on its path towards recovery, we remain positive on the country’s logistics sector due to its strong fundamentals and stable returns. We expect this positive momentum and the ongoing supply chain diversification to drive demand for high quality warehouse space. This is a rare opportunity for PGIM Real Estate to acquire a stake in a prime asset anchored by a high-quality tenant. Our partner, ESR brings an extensive track record in managing logistics developments and properties and, through our collaboration, we are excited that this acquisition and redevelopment project will further extend our regional footprint within the logistics sector.”

Jai Mirpuri, Head, New Economy, ARA Private Funds, said: “The fully-ramped facility will be built with the most premium specifications and standards, featuring a suite of sustainability features and human-centric design that ESR is renowned for. Committed to delivering outstanding design and performance in environmental sustainability, the facility is designed to achieve the BCA Green Mark Platinum certification.

“With a capacity of generating circa 2MW rooftop solar power which can be used by its tenants and plugged into the power grid with net metering, the facility will be a carbon-negative building once it becomes operational. ESR is also undertaking a comprehensive embodied carbon footprint tracking exercise as the building targets to become fully carbon-neutral for both scope one and scope two embodied carbon within a few years of operations.”

Rex Macaskill, POKKA Group CEO, said: “We are excited and look forward to the new facility and office space at 4 Benoi Crescent, which will provide us with the expanded scale, modern specifications and sustainability features to support our growth and expansion into the future.

“POKKA partnered with CBRE Private Limited in the journey to find the right partner like ESR. With a high growth ambition, Singapore continues to be the main hub for Innovation and R&D. In line with POKKA’s Vision to bring Genuine Vitality for Life to all our consumers, this is a strategic move as the the new space will allow us to create an efficient, purpose-built working environment while optimizing productivity and performance.”

Construction of the facility will commence in April 2022 and is scheduled for completion in Q1 2024.