City Developments Limited (CDL)’s 1QFY2025 business update ended March 31, 2025, saw its net gearing ratio factoring in fair value on investment properties rising to 72%, following the full payment for 51% in a site in Xintiandi area Shanghai.

The group’s interest cover is 1.4 times as at end March, and the group’s cash reserves stood at $2 billion, with a liquidity position of $3.8 billion in cash.

Under its property development segment, Singapore saw total sales value of $1.9 billion for 1QFY2025, up from the $736.8 million in the previous quarter. The group and its JV associates sold 795 units, driven by the launch of a JV project in The Orie, among other already launched projects.

CDL is preparing to launch the Zion Road JV project in 2HFY2025, a mixed-used integrated development project.

The group’s office portfolio in Singapore achieved committed occupancy of 97.2% driven by full occupancy at City House and King’s Centre. All three of the group’s wholly-owned office assets recorded positive rental reversions.

Meanwhile, the group’s retail portfolio saw a committed occupancy of 96.2% as at end March.

Overseas, the group obtained approval for a GBP1.1 billion ($1.91 billion) residential-led mixed-use scheme on the former Stag Brewery site in Mortlake, South West London, for 1,068 homes.

The group’s commercial portfolio in the UK achieved an occupancy rate of 82.1% driven by new leases in 125 Old Broad Street.

In China, design work for the new mixed-use JV development site in Xintiandi is expected to see construction starting in 4Q2025, while the launch of Suzhou’s High-Speed Railway New Town is targeted for launch in 1Q2026.

The group’s China office portfolio recorded a committed occupancy of 52.7%, while the group’s Phuket shopping centre saw a committed occupancy of 91.3%.

For its hotel operations, the group achieved a global revenue per available room (RevPAR) growth of 1.2%, reaching $139.7 supported by higher room occupancy and APR in Australasia, and the rest of UK and Europe.

CDL says that as part of its capital management focus, it has embarked on two portfolio restructuring initiatives since the beginning of the year — the privatization of Millennium & Copthorne Hotels New Zealand Limited (MCK), and an off-market equal access scheme for its preference shares.

Following the close of the revised offer on May 8, the group holds about 83.9% of all MCK shares, having received acceptance totalling 8.062% of the total outstanding shares. As the group did not reach the 90% threshold that would have allowed it to compulsorily acquire the remaining ordinary shares, MCK remains listed, and its ordinary shares (and preference shares) will continue to be traded on the NZX.

The group will not make another takeover under the takeovers code for at least nine months from Apr 22, 2025.

CDL announced an off-market equal access scheme to buy back 26,800,814 Preference Shares, representing 10% of the total number of 268,008,149 Preference Shares in issue at the offer price of 78 cents in cash for each Preference Share.

CDL says that the group is lining up “significant divestments to reduce gearing and redeploy the capital”. “Going forward, divestments will remain a key pillar of the Group’s multifaceted strategy,” reads the group’s business update.

Shares in City Developments closed 2 cents lower or 0.421% down at $4.73 on May 20.