JP Morgan to up property footprint here significant

[SINGAPORE] Bucking the slow pace of office leasing by financial institutions here, JP Morgan is said to be boosting its real estate footprint by around 40 per cent. The bank, which operates out of Capital Tower on Robinson Road, will do a front end-back end split.

When contacted, JP Morgan's chief administrative officer for Singapore, Paul Echart, confirmed that the bank would operate out of two locations - Capital Tower and One@Changi City - from the fourth quarter.

"We forecast that headcount for JP Morgan in Singapore will increase over the next three years," he added without elaborating. "Our long term real estate strategy requires us to effectively manage our expansion, provide desirable work environments for our teams and improve our business resiliency, in what is a key regional hub for the firm."

BT understands that JP Morgan has renewed its lease at Capital Tower but for a reduced space of around 150,000 sq ft, down from 200,000 sq ft under the current lease which expires around year-end.

At One@Changi City, the bank will lease around 130,000 sq ft of business park space, which means its total real estate footprint in Singapore will be around 280,000 sq ft - an increase of about 40 per cent.

One@Changi City has about 650,000 sq ft of business park space in two nine-storey towers; most of the floors are linked, providing up to 88,000 sq ft of contiguous space. Major tenants include Credit Suisse, which has leased 315,000 sq ft, and EMC (106,000 sq ft). Ericsson is also understood to have signed up for 30,000 sq ft.

The development is largely committed, with the last major chunk of space for lease - adding up to around 60,000 sq ft - located on Levels 9 of both towers.

One@Changi City is part of the Changi City mixed development, which also includes Changi City Point mall and a serviced apartment-hotel hybrid under the Capri by Fraser brand. The mixed development is located in Changi Business Park. It is being developed by an Ascendas-Frasers Centrepoint tie-up.

Market watchers say that the achievable monthly rent for business park space at One@Changi currently would be in the "mid-$4 to low-$5 psf range", compared with around $7 psf on average in The Metropolis, Ho Bee's office development directly linked to Buona Vista MRT Station on the Circle Line.

In the financial district, it would probably cost around $8.50-9.50 psf a month to lease space in an older landmark office block, say, in the Raffles Place area, and $9-12 psf for a new Grade A development - depending on the quantum of space involved, according to agents.

Jones Lang LaSalle is understood to have brokered JP Morgan's lease renewal at Capital Tower and its new lease at One@Changi City.

At The Metropolis, GE is understood to have leased three floors adding up to around 70,000 sq ft.

Meanwhile, there is a flurry of leasing activity for backroom space because tenants of The Comtech in the Pasir Panjang area are making arrangements for alternative premises ahead of the building's redevelopment.

DBS, which occupies 100,000 sq ft in the building, is headed for 10 Toh Guan Road. The deal was brokered by Colliers International. Credit Agricole is expected to move out of Comtech later this quarter to Mapletree Business City next door, where it already has a presence.

PROPERTY LAUNCHES & INVESTMENTS

Property Launches & Investments

JP Morgan to up property footprint here significant

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