The newly launched CapitaLand Wellness Fund (C-WELL) has acquired its first asset in Singapore in a joint purchase with Ascott, CapitaLand’s lodging business unit.
C-WELL and Ascott each holds a 50% stake in the lodging property located in Bugis in Singapore’s downtown core district.
Neither the identity of the vendor nor the sale price was disclosed, but various media reported that the seller was Gaw Capital Partners which bought the hotel for S$203m (€140m) in 2015 and has sold it to CapitaLand for S$240m.
CapitaLand Investment’s inaugural wellness and healthcare-related real estate fund had its first close in October 2023. The value-add fund will focus initially on Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia.
With a target fund size of S$1bn on an upsized option, C-WELL will invest in single or mixed-used assets that span the healthcare, medical, wellness and preventive care spectrum.
Patricia Goh, chief executive officer, Southeast Asia Investment, CLI, said the Bugis-Bras Basah precinct, with its diverse mix of retail, workspaces, residential and medical facilities, had the potential to be transformed into a thriving hub for wellness and corporate healthcare, attracting both local and international visitors.
“Together with the other CLI-managed properties in the precinct, we now have the unique opportunity to develop an integrated wellness-hospitality ecosystem that meets the growing demand for wellness and healthcare-related tourism.”
The company said the 308-unit Bugis property would be upgraded and rebranded under Ascott’s co-living business, branded lyf.
Kevin Goh, chief executive officer for Ascott and CLI Lodging, said: “The acquisition is aligned with Ascott’s asset-light growth strategy, as we invest alongside our funds while growing a pipeline of quality assets that can be subsequently injected into our other funds.”
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