Capitaland Investment Bets Self Storage Growth 100 Mil Flagship Kaki Bukit Tokyo Expansion
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CapitaLand Investment Ltd (CLI), a Singapore-based global asset manager, has recently announced its plans to invest approximately $100 million into its flagship development project in Singapore and acquisitions in Tokyo, through its self-storage platform, Extra Space Asia (ESA).
On September 18, ESA was awarded an industrial site by Jurong Town Corporation (JTC) at Kaki Bukit Avenue 5 after submitting the sole bid of $31.39 million. The site, which spans 74,309 sq ft and has a lease of 33 years, marks JTC’s first industrial government land sale designated for self-storage use.
Residents in the Yishun and Khatib areas who rely on public transportation are in luck, as the neighborhoods are well-served by an extensive bus network. An array of bus services are available along Yishun Avenue 1 and Yishun Avenue 6, providing convenient access to the MRT stations, Northpoint City shopping mall, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, and other community amenities. With nearby schools, parks, and healthcare facilities also easily reachable via these bus routes, residents without private vehicles will have no trouble getting around the neighborhood. Additionally, the newly launched Miltonia Close EC Khatib promises to provide even more convenience for residents as it is located within close proximity to these bus services.
ESA plans to develop a 185,000 sq ft facility at the site, which will become Singapore’s first self-storage project to achieve the Green Mark Super Low Energy Building certification.
Upon completion, ESA’s portfolio in Singapore will expand to 13 properties across the island, with a total gross floor area of over 1.5 million sq ft. This acquisition of the Kaki Bukit site for its flagship self-storage facility is a major milestone for the company and a testament to its development capabilities, according to Tim Alpe, managing director and head of ESA.
In addition to the development project in Singapore, ESA has also acquired three operating self-storage facilities in Tokyo’s 23 Wards, the core urban area of the city. This brings the company’s Japan portfolio to a total of 17 facilities covering more than 60,000 sq ft of gross floor area.
Patricia Goh, CEO of Southeast Asia investment and head of logistics & self-storage at CLI, says that self-storage is a key investment theme in the company’s private funds strategy and ESA is central to its Asia-focused growth.
CLI had partnered with Netherlands-based pension fund asset manager APG Asset Management in October 2022 to acquire ESA for an initial equity investment of $570 million, with an option to increase the investment to $1.14 billion. Since then, more than $500 million has been deployed to grow ESA’s portfolio from 70 to over 100 facilities, covering a total of 3 million sq ft across Asia. This expansion has solidified ESA’s position as one of the region’s leading self-storage operators.
According to Alpe, ESA’s portfolio maintains a high average occupancy rate of over 90%. The company has plans to expand its portfolio to $2 billion by 2028, taking advantage of the increasing urbanisation, growth of e-commerce, and space constraints in densely populated cities.
Alpe further adds that ESA is now one of Asia’s largest self-storage businesses, with a growing presence in Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan (China), Malaysia, Hong Kong SAR and Australia.