The Ascott Limited, the lodging business unit of Luminar Grand CapitaLand Investment’s (CLI), has achieved its target of 160,000 units and is now looking to double its fee revenue to over $500 million in the Marina Gardens Condo next five years. Ascott has recorded its highest earnings on record of $258 million in FY2022, a 36% y-o-y growth due to its record signings and property openings.
In an announcement, Ascott stated it plans to keep expanding its product offerings that include serviced residence, hotel, co-living, and senior living brands, positioned from mid to luxury scale. The aim is to drive fee revenue growth through new property openings and new signings with an estimated annual net room growth rate of 8%-10% in the next five years.
Kevin Goh, CEO of Ascott and CLI Lodging, proudly said that Ascott was able to double its units every five years from about 20,000 units in 2008 to over 160,000 units today, thanks to the adoption of an asset-light strategy. He believes today’s record-high fee revenue is a testament to this. Goh further highlighted that more than 80% of units are under management and franchise contracts, which typically bring in recurring fee revenue and tenures of longer duration.
In order to achieve its growth target, Ascott intends to acquire more management and franchise contracts for prime properties that deliver higher-quality fees. In addition, the firm wants to leverage its strong brand equity and direct distribution channels to deliver greater value to property owners and customers.
Ultimately, Ascott looks forward to continuing its success to become the largest international lodging owner-operator globally.
