On Nov 5, CapitaLand Investment announced the final close for its value-add lodging private fund, CapitaLand Ascott Residence Asia Fund II (CLARA II), securing over US$650 million ($850 million) in total equity commitments and co-investments across the fund and associated vehicles. This is above the fund’s US$600 million equity target and underscores continued investor confidence in the living and lodging sector as well as CLI’s investment and operational expertise in Asia Pacific.
CLARA II will add approximately US$1.6 billion to CLI’s total funds under management. Global investors in the fund include new and repeat capital partners, comprising a diverse pool of institutional investors, pension funds and financial institutions from Asia, Europe and North America. CLI has committed a 20% sponsor stake to ensure strong alignment. CLARA II targets opportunities in the living and lodging sector across gateway cities in Asia-Pacific, focusing on unlocking value by transforming underutilised assets into high-performing living and lodging properties.
The fund has deployed approximately half of its committed equity across three assets. CLARA II’s portfolio comprises a serviced residence and a coliving property in Japan, as well as a coliving property in Singapore. These are lyf Shibuya Tokyo and Citadines Shinjuku Tower Tokyo in Japan, as well as lyf Bugis Singapore.
“The strong support we have received from CLI’s international network of capital partners demonstrates investors’ trust in our capabilities and lodging fund strategy. Our competitive edge in seeing through the full life cycle of our assets is key to CLARA II’s value-add strategy. Through our first lodging private fund, we have demonstrated our proven track record of successful value-add and exits. The team remains disciplined in its project management and execution, adding significant value to the properties through reconfiguration and renovation, and swiftly bringing them to market. Returns on divestment for our previous assets such as lyf Ginza Tokyo and lyf Funan Singapore were above the fund’s target, generating alpha for our capital partners. We continue to tap on our deep investment and asset management expertise and network to identify and execute opportunities to deliver long-term returns for our stakeholders," says Mak Hoe Kit, Managing Director, Lodging Private Equity Funds, CLI.
