Century Properties Group (CPG) will be spending P30 billion in the next three years to expand its various enterprises, as it embarks on a new line of in-city residential developments.
CPG President and Chief Executive Officer Jose Marco Antonio said the company aims to equally grow its three business segments—the new line of Urban Villages, its recurring income portfolio of leasing assets, and horizontal affordable housing, while it also focused on its leisure and tourism business.
“We plan to launch four [affordable mid-rise homes] within the next 12 months intially. We are looking at Mandaluyong, Quezon City and Pampanga,” he told reporters after the company’s stockholders’ meeting on Friday.
Antonio said target markets for in-city residential developments include young people in the work force, young professionals, young families and people prioritizing convenience.
“Because of the current state of our traffic and travel times have been increasing to and from places of work and residence, we feel that there is a sweet spot for affordable homes in key city centers and its peripheries,” he added.
Antonio further said the firm is also ramping up its commercial leasing portfolio with a goal of P2 billion leasing revenues by 2020.
He attributed the growth to the rising office market, driven by the information technology-business-process outsourcing (IT-BPO) sector, and the continued economic growth.
“Add to these is the continued trend of coworking, as well as all the infrastructure projects and Peza’s [Philippine Economic Zone Authority] move to basically create national inclusivity by creating economic zones outside of Metro Manila. I think the office sector will continue to grow at healthy rates,” he said.
Meanwhile, Antonio said the first two phases of its affordable housing brand, PHirst Park Homes, in Tanza, Cavite, are almost sold out, and its third phase is being offered.
“Tanza [project] sold well and actually that performance has been mirrored in the two succeeding projects basically Lipa and San Pablo [in Laguna],” he added.
In a related development, former US Ambassador Jose Eduardo B. Antonio has relinquished his president and CEO positions at Century Properties Group Inc. to his son Jose Marco, who will now be in charge of steering the company that has refocused its attention on horizontal development rather than selling condominium units and office spaces.
Jose Eduardo, who held the post for 33 years since the founding of CPG and seven years since it became publicly listed, will remain as the company’s executive chairman.
Marco’s brothers John Victor, Jose Roberto and Jose Carlo will retain their respective posts as members of CPG’s board of directors.
The appointment took effect immediately after the CPG board approval in June. “This new role of Marco in the company affirms the board’s trust and confidence in his leadership, given his more than two decades of professional experience and wide exposure in the company’s operations handling different aspects of the business,” the company’s chairman said.
The company is refocusing its efforts on selling horizontal projects located in the outskirts of the city and leasing its current assets after it has been running out of condominium units to sell in Metro Manila.
CPG said it is allocating some P30 billion in capital expenditures in the next three years, focusing on what it called in-city residences and horizontal affordable housing, in partnership with Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp.
All these projects cover 250.6 hectares of land bank that CPG is building to further expand its footprint in-city, in strategic tourism destinations and provincial growth centers within Luzon.
“Our strong balance sheet supports our growth strategy. Our ultimate goal is to grow CPG’s businesses and achieve a revenue mix of one-third each from our three main segments of recurring income portfolio, horizontal affordable housing through PHirst Park Homes, and Urban Villages—to have a diversified net income mix with more sustainable cash flow and recurring income,” the company said.
The former US ambassador established Century Properties Inc. in 1986, six days before the historic Edsa Revolution, with only six employees. Three years later, he put up the country’s first independent real estate and property management company, Century Properties Management Inc., and went on to develop upscale condominiums in the CBDs starting 1991.
Since CPG became a publicly listed firm in 2012, it has sold 91 percent of over 20,000 units launched and completed 26 buildings with more than 14,000 units and 1.3 million square meters of gross floor area.
Marco Antonio, meanwhile, started working for Century in 1996 after working at The Blackstone Group in New York City. He graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics (dual major in Finance and Entrepreneurial Management) from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School in 1995 and received his masters degree in Business Administration with a major in Strategic Management from the Wharton School in 2004.
He served as managing director for the company for 22 years and held this position concurrently when he was appointed as COO and the company aimed to really transform itself from a single asset class residential condo developer to one that is going to be supported by businesses that have strong fundamental and exciting prospects,” he said.
With a report from PNA