Mallesons Stephen Jaques has advised the Allco Finance Group on the establishment and listing on the Singapore Exchange of its first Singapore real estate investment trust (REIT). The REIT has a gross asset value of S$698.4 million. Its assets include a 50% interest in the Central Park office building in Perth, a 100% interest in the China Square Central complex in Singapore and an investment in the Allco Wholesale Property Fund which contains significant Australian real property assets.

Mallesons’ team (based in Melbourne and Sydney) assisted the Singapore based underwriters to understand Australia’s real property and stamp duty laws and were involved in the preparation of the REIT prospectus that was lodged with the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

The team included lawyers with expertise in property, taxation, stamp duty, foreign investment, corporate and financing law. Having worked closely with Allco on its Australian property transactions over a sustained period of time, the team made practical use of its in-depth knowledge of Allco’s commercial and financing objectives.

Mallesons has extensive experience in acting on REIT transactions. The firm has been heavily involved in the development of the Australian listed property trust markets since their inception in the 1980s. The firm has actively participated in the development of the Asian REIT market. For instance Mallesons played a lead role lobbying the Hong Kong SFC over several years.