Re-plus, Able Join Hands In REIT Business

July 13, 2005
Re-plus, Able Join Hands In REIT Business

TOKYO (Nikkei)--Real estate fund operator Re-plus Inc. (8936) has teamed up with Able Inc. (8872), the country's largest broker of rental condominiums, in the real estate investment trust business.
Re-plus, which plans to create a REIT that will invest exclusively in rental housing, expects Able to introduce apartments and condos for the trust and help boost the occupancy rates of properties included in it, company sources said.
The two companies also have equity ties, with Able buying 30 million yen in shares of a 150 million yen issuance by the REIT management subsidiary of Re-plus.
Re-plus currently operates a private real estate fund that invests equally in three types of condos: those for families in the center of big cities, units for families in the suburbs of big cities and studios in big cities.
The firm plans to include these condos in the REIT, which it aims to list early next year when the trust is expected to have assets of around 70 billion yen.

(The Nikkei Financial Daily Wednesday edition)