Real estate management services firm LHN is the big winner at this year’s Centurion Club. The company can trace its history back to 1991 and has built a track record and portfolio of integrated real estate management services across various property types, including industrial, commercial, and residential.

LHN prides itself on taking old, unused, and underutilised industrial, commercial, and residential properties and enhancing and transforming them into thoughtfully designed, highly usable spaces. In addition, LHN actively engages in other property-related businesses, including property development and investment, in which it develops or sells diverse types of properties.

The company provides complementary but necessary services such as cleaning, car park management, and building management, which give further value to its space optimisation business activities. LHN offers sustainable energy solutions ,including the electricity retailing business, provision of electric vehicle charging stations and installation of solar power systems for properties it manages too.

LHN calls the most recent FY2024 ended Sept 30, 2024, a “challenging” one, with various macro events such as rising interest rates, inflation and ongoing geopolitical tensions affecting the local economy. Nonetheless, LHN has once again demonstrated its strength, delivering a profitable financial year with robust performance across all key business segments.

In FY2024, LHN reported revenue from continuing operations of $121 million, up 29.2% from FY2023. In the same year, earnings were up 23.8% y-o-y to $47.3 million. A total dividend of 3 cents per share was paid. A key driver of the FY2024 numbers was LHN’s co-living business in Singapore, which experienced a “significant boost” with revenue up by 85.5% y-o-y to $52.4 million, driven by a high occupancy rate of 97.5% as at Sept 30 and following LHN’s expansion of co-living capacity to meet market demand. Following LHN’s FY2024, the company has put in motion plans to spin off its co-living business, under the Coliwoo brand, for a separate listing.

See also: A rejuvenated Singapore market, a reset for The Edge Singapore

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PropNex, the largest real estate agency in Singapore and the overall sector winner last year, retained its weighted return on equity (ROE) win this time round. The company was founded by executive chairman Mohamed Ismail Gafoor and partners in 2000, and since then, as indicated in its FY2024 annual report, has grown to have over 13,000 salespersons in Singapore, and if other regional markets were included, more than 16,000 salespersons. With this strong presence, PropNex is well-positioned to capture both new launches and follow-up resale transactions. In its FY2024, the company reported earnings of $40.9 million, down 5.2% y-o-y. However, dividends increased from 6 cents to 7.75 cents as PropNex marked its 25th anniversary.

Tosei Corporation, which is recognised this year for growth in profit after tax (PAT), traces its roots to 1950 as a Japanese company in the restaurant business. In 1964, with Japan’s post-war economic boom in full swing, it expanded its scope of business to include real estate trading, brokerage, rental, and management. The range of properties it manages spans logistics, retail, residential, and hotels. In the later years, it added fund management, consulting and a range of other complementary businesses. The company was listed in Tokyo in 2011, and the Singapore listing took place in March 2013.