The Ascott Limited
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| File:Ascott icon.jpg | |
| Company type | Privately held |
|---|---|
| Industry | Hospitality |
| Founded | 1984 |
| Headquarters | Singapore  |
Number of locations | Over 20 countries |
Key people | Lim Ming Yan, CEO [1] |
Number of employees | 5,000[2] |
| Website | The Ascott Limited |
The Ascott Limited is the world's largest international serviced residence owner-operator with over 19,000 operating serviced residence units in key cities of Asia Pacific, Europe and the Gulf region, as well as around 6,000 units which are under development, making a total of 25,000 units[3].Its portfolio spans 69 cities in 22 countries.
The Ascott Limited is a wholly-owned subsidiary of CapitaLand Limited, one of Asia's largest real estate companies. The Ascott was delisted from the Singapore Exchange in 2008 after a compulsory acquisition[4]. Some of the reasons cited were; "Accelerated growth in key areas by tapping on CapitaLand's more established real estate development and financial services capability" and "Greater cost savings through sharing of services and resources".
History
The past two decades saw merger and acquisition activities involving real estate and hospitality players in Singapore like Scotts Holdings, Pidemco Land, Somerset International, Liang Court, Stamford Group and DBS Land. These developments eventually led to the establishment of The Ascott Limited, the largest serviced residence owner-operator outside the United States, with a global presence spanning over 60 cities around the world[5]. In 2006, the company established the world's first pan-Asian serviced residence real estate investment trust, the Ascott Residence Trust (Ascott REIT). Then in 2009, The Ascott Group Limited celebrated 25 successful years as the top international serviced residence owner-operator[6].
Establishment
The Scotts Holdings, a well-known Singapore corporation with business interests in serviced apartments, shopping centres and property investments, opened Asia Pacific's first international-class serviced residence—The Ascott Singapore on 14 August 1984[7]. Scotts Holdings was listed in 1991.
In 1998, Pidemco Land* set up Somerset International, its new serviced residence arm. It acquired Liang Court Holdings, one of Asia's largest serviced residence operators, to form Somerset Holdings. Together, these two companies had a combined portfolio of 3,200 serviced residence units in 15 cities.
Scotts Holdings merged with Stamford Group[8], the serviced residence arm of DBS Land* to form The Ascott Limited, creating a joint portfolio of more than 1,700 units in eight cities.
Citadines merged with Orion, and Whitehall and Westmont later sold its tourist-oriented Orion serviced residences to focus on its business clientele.
In 2001, The Ascott Limited was listed following the merger of Somerset Holdings and The Ascott Limited in 2000. In the following year, Ascott acquired a 50 percent stake in Citadines, which made it the largest international serviced residence operator outside the US.
In 2002, it acquired the remaining 50 percent interest in Citadines[9]. The company now owns the three brands: Ascott, Somerset and Citadines.
Ascott Residence Trust
The first Pan-Asian serviced residence REIT, the Ascott Residence Trust (Ascott REIT), was established and listed on 31 March 2006 in Singapore[10]. The Ascott Residence Trust has a combined portfolio of S$1.53 billion[11] as at 01 April 2009, comprising 38 serviced residences and rental housing properties across seven countries[12]. For the period 1 January to 31 March 2010, Ascott REIT achieved a revenue of S$43.5 million and gross profit of S$20.1 million[13].
Brands
Ascott The Residence
Ascott the Residence provides luxurious and exclusive serviced residences. It is the most awarded serviced residence brand in Asia-Pacific[14]. Some of the notable properties are Ascott Sathorn Bangkok, Ascott Kuala Lumpur, and Ascott Guangzhou, which came in top 3 for Serviced Residences in the Asia-Pacific region[15]. Most of the properties are located in the heart of Central Business Districts(CBDs). Due to the location, the residences are catered towards top executives or market leaders who find it convenient.
Somerset Serviced Residence
Somerset residences offers stylish homes[16] that come with fully equipped kitchens. The type of homes offered ranges from studios to large three bedroom units. Somerset units can be located mainly at the fringe of cities across the globe. With close proximity to the heart of cities, these residences are well suited for executives or even families on vacations. They also provide various gatherings and activities[17] for guests from time to time to help them get settled down.
Citadines Apart'Hotel
Citadines offers travellers with greater flexibility of services compared to the other two brands. The residence units are urban and trendy in design. Many of its residences can be found in Europe. This service line offers travellers with greater flexibility by allowing guests to choose only the services they need. Citadines offers a more budget option[18] compared to the rest of the two. In addition, Citadines does not carry the crest unlike the other two brands.
Awards and Accolades
- Best Serviced Residence Company (Business Traveller UK Awards 2007-2009[25])
Membership
The Ascott Limited also offers membership schemes for all of its' 3 brands. It allows members to get special rates and newsletters across the year.
List of Countries
The Ascott has properties in the following countries:
Asia Pacific
Europe
Gulf Region
References
- ^ "The Ascott Limited Management Structure".
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ "The Ascott limited Corporate profile".
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ "The Ascott Limited Corporate Profile". theascottlimited.com.
- ^ "CapitaLand completes compulsory acquisition of Ascott". CapitaLand Investors News Release. April 28, 2008. Retrieved March 02, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|dateformat=ignored (help) - ^ "Ascott International Management". JobStreet.com.
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{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ "The Ascott Limited, History".
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ "Moving Image and Sound Archives Singapore". National Archives of Singapore. July 5, 1999.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ "Ascott buys rest of Citadines to become global apart-hotel player". caterersearch.com. June 03, 2004.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ "Ascott may float Malaysian assets". Malaysia Property News. Aug 09, 2008.
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{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ "Business Traveller rewards travel industry champions". Business Traveller Asia.
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{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ "Ascott to open two serviced residences in China this month". PR Newswire. Aug 01, 2008.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ Felicity Cousins (Feb 2009). [www.bridgestreet.com/Download_Files/Apart_From_The_Rest.pdf "APART from the rest"] (PDF). businesstraveller.com.
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