(2 February 2024, Hong Kong) WEAVE LIVING, Asia-Pacific’s pre-eminent living sector specialist, today announces the formation of a joint venture with a fund managed by BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, to acquire its second property in Singapore, marking its 22nd location in Asia-Pacific.
Sachin Doshi, Founder and Group CEO of WEAVE LIVING said: “We are excited to kick off the year with this partnership with BlackRock and securing our second and flagship location in Singapore. Following a successful launch of our first property in Singapore last year with WEAVE SUITES – MIDTOWN, we have witnessed overwhelming demand for our design-led, professionally-managed accommodation solutions and are looking forward to expanding the Weave collection in the Lion City. We welcome BlackRock as our latest joint venture partner as we accelerate our expansion throughout the region’s most prominent rental housing markets and continue to build our institutional asset management business.”
The property acquired by the new joint venture in Singapore is at 8 Wilkie Road, a centrally located, low-density residential area offering a wide range of lifestyle options. The property’s prime location places residents in close proximity to six MRT stations, with the nearest only a five-minute walk away, and just a 15-minute trip to the CBD or Orchard Road. This property will undergo an extensive year-long renovation and re-open under the company’s contemporary serviced accommodation brand, WEAVE SUITES. With a targeted opening in early 2025, the luxuriously redesigned property will offer a range of fully self-contained studio and 1-bedroom apartments with tailored services and amenity-rich resident spaces in the scenic surroundings of Wilkie Road, allowing residents to indulge in a premium living experience. The joint venture partners anticipate a significant uplift in yield and eventual capital value of the property through WEAVE LIVING’s active operations and asset enhancement capabilities.
“Our joint venture with a fund managed by BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, for this acquisition showcases our commitment to expanding the WEAVE brand, growing our institutional asset management business, and portfolio of landmark properties in prime locations across the Asia-Pacific region’s key gateway cities. We look forward to further deepening our partnership with BlackRock and other global investors in the rental housing asset class. Moving forward, we will continue to innovate and offer a differentiated accommodation offering to our residents, further solidifying our position as a premium living sector specialist.” adds Sachin.
Andrew Lee, Director of APAC Real Estate at BlackRock, said, “The living sector in Singapore is an underserved market showing strong demand and potential for rental growth. This transaction fits perfectly with our investment strategy in terms of geographies and sectors we are focusing across the region. We are pleased to be partnering with WEAVE LIVING, a best-in-class operator with a differentiated product offering, to continue to deliver value for our long-term investors.” WEAVE LIVING’s latest property acquisition in Asia-Pacific follows the acquisition of eleven Tokyo properties under its newly launched customer brand – WEAVE PLACE, over the last three months. Under the joint venture with a fund managed by BlackRock, WEAVE LIVING will continue to expand as the region’s leading vertically integrated rental accommodation owner, developer, manager, and operator with a second location in Singapore and twenty-second location in the region’s major cities.