Filinvest REIT Corp. (FILRT), the real estate investment trust of the Filinvest Group, plans to double its 330,000 square meter leasing portfolio over the next three years through asset infusions and acquisitions.
FILRT president Maricel Brion-Lirio said during a forum the company also aimed to increase its office occupancy rate to 95 percent by 2026 from the current 83 percent, as part of its goal to diversify its client base.
She said doubling the company’s gross leasable area (GLA) and raising its occupancy rate are key elements of the group’s medium- to long-term strategy to strengthen operations.
“We are aiming to double the current GLA of 330,000 sqm by acquiring dividend-accretive assets in the next three years, subject to current market conditions,” Brion-Lirio said.
She said about 700,000 square meters of potential assets from the Filinvest Group could be infused into FILRT. These assets are primarily Grade-A office buildings, retail spaces and hotels.
Brion-Lirio said the group is also open to acquiring commercial assets from parties outside the Filinvest Group, provided these assets meet the company’s assessment and investment criteria.
She said to increase occupancy rate, FILRT is expanding its tenant base, which is dominated by business process outsourcing (BPO) companies.
“We have repositioned and expanded our leasing organization to enable a shift in tenant mix, and we have repurposed and redesigned spaces to accommodate different types of clients,” she said.
Brion-Lirio said the company is signing new traditional tenants to replace the BPO tenants that downsized their operations due to the work-from-home setup.
FILRT signed 22,813 sqm of new leases in the first nine months of 2024, a 13.3-percent increase from the 20,139 sq. m. it signed in 2023. It also signed 42,474 sq. m. of new leases to replace 56,985 sq. m. of expiring leases in 2024.
FILRT also aims to achieve green certification for its properties and provide 100-percent renewable electricity for its tenants.
