The Ascott Limited
 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Hospitality |
| Founded | 1984 |
| Headquarters | Singapore |
Number of locations | Over 101 cities |
Key people | Lee Chee Koon, CEO[1] |
Number of employees | 7,000[2] |
| Website | www |
The Ascott Limited is the world's largest international serviced residence owner-operator with over 26,000 operating serviced residence units in key cities of the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Gulf region. The company also has over 16,000 units which are under development, making a total of more than 43,000 units in over 270 properties.[3] Its portfolio spans 101 cities across 29 countries.
The Ascott Limited is a subsidiary of CapitaLand, 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
From 1984 – 2000, merger and acquisition activities involving real estate and hospitality players in Singapore (Scotts Holdings, Pidemco Land, Somerset International, Liang Court Holdings, Stamford Group, DBS Land and Citadines an established hospitality brand in Europe) led to the establishment of The Ascott Limited. In 2006, the company established the world's first pan-Asian serviced residence real estate investment trust, the Ascott Residence Trust (Ascott REIT). In 2014, Ascott celebrated 30 years in the serviced residence business.
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.[5] 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,[6] 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, while 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 of the US. In 2004, it acquired the remaining 50 percent interest in Citadines.[7] 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.[8] The Ascott Residence Trust has more than quadrupled to S$4 billion, comprising 86 serviced residences and rental housing properties across thirteen countries.[9] For the period 1 January to 30 September 2015, Ascott REIT achieved a revenue of S$301.9 million and gross profit of S$147.7 million.[10]
Brands
Ascott The Residence
Located in the business districts of cities across Asia Pacific, Europe and the Gulf region, Ascott The Residence provides serviced residences for business travellers and tourists. Some of the notable properties include Ascott Sathorn Bangkok, Ascott Huai Hai Road Shanghai, Ascott Raffles City Beijing, and Ascott Raffles Place Singapore, which have all been recognized by the Business Traveller Asia-Pacific and China Awards in 2014 and 2015.[11]
Ascott The Residence provides a range of serviced residence categories ranging from studios to three-bedroom apartments. Business support services, meeting and recreational facilities can be found within most residences. Most of the properties are located in the heart of Central Business Districts(CBDs).[citation needed]
Citadines Apart'Hotel
The apart'hotels are mainly located in metropolitan cities with majority of its properties found in European countries including Belgium, France, Georgia, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom.Its portfolio of apartments has received recognition at the World Travel Awards 2015 and TripAdvisor Traveller’s Choice Awards 2015.[12]
Somerset Serviced Residence
Somerset serviced residences are primarily located on the outskirts of cities across the globe. These residences can be used by executives or families on vacations. They also provide various gatherings and activities[13] for guests from time to time to help them get settledin.
Apart from providing business related services, the majority of properties under the brand also feature ensuite kitchens, separate dining areas and comfortable living areas.Guests can choose from residence types that range from studios to three-bedroom units.
Awards and Accolades
- Leading Serviced Apartment Brand – 5 Awards (World Travel Awards 2015)
- Leading Serviced Apartments – 8 Awards (World Travel Awards 2015)
- Best Serviced Apartment Company (Business Traveller UK Awards 2015 – 9th consecutive year)
- Best Serviced Residence Brand in Asia-Pacific - Ascott The Residence (Business Traveller Asia-Pacific Awards 2015)
- Best Serviced Residence Brand in China – Ascott The Residence (Business Traveller China Awards 2015)
- Best Serviced Residence Company in the Middle East - The Ascott Limited (Business Traveller Middle East 2015)
- Best Serviced Residence Operator in China – The Ascott Limited (TTG China Travel Awards 2015)
- Best Serviced Residence - The Ascott Limited (Golden Dragon Award, Vietnam Economic Times magazine - 8th consecutive year)
- Best Serviced Residence Brand - Ascott The Residence (DestinAsian Readers’ Choice Awards 2015 - 8th consecutive year)
Membership
The Ascott Online Advantage is a membership scheme introduced in 2015 across all of 3 brands under The Ascott Limited.This free online membership allows members to avail special perks like members-only rates and promotions.In addition, members receive promotional offers through regular newsletters.
List of countries
The Ascott Limited has properties in the following countries:
Asia Pacific
- Australia
- China
- Hong Kong
- India
- Indonesia
- Japan
- Macau
- Malaysia
- Philippines
- Singapore
- South Korea
- Thailand
- Vietnam
- Laos
Europe
Gulf Region
References
- ^ "The Ascott Limited Management Structure".
- ^ "The Ascott limited Corporate profile".
- ^ "The Ascott Limited Corporate Profile". theascottlimited.com.
- ^ "CapitaLand completes compulsory acquisition of Ascott". CapitaLand Investors News Release. April 28, 2008. Retrieved March 2, 2010.
- ^ "The Ascott Limited, History".
- ^ "Moving Image and Sound Archives Singapore". National Archives of Singapore. July 5, 1999.
- ^ "Ascott buys rest of Citadines to become global apart-hotel player". caterersearch.com. June 3, 2004.
- ^ "Ascott may float Malaysian assets". Malaysia Property News. August 9, 2008.
- ^ "Ascott Reit's Quality Portfolio Produces Another Award-Winning Property". Ascott Residence Trust.
- ^ http://ascottreit.listedcompany.com/newsroom/20151029_070959_A68U_60MHS97OWGBQTGN8.2.pdf
- ^ "Business Traveller Awards". Business Traveller Asia.
- ^ ttp://www.theascottlimited.com/en/aboutus/awards_and_accolades.html?year=2015
- ^ "Ascott to open two serviced residences inChina this month". PR Newswire. August 1, 2008.
- ^ http://www.theascottlimited.com/en/aboutus/awards_and_accolades.html?year=2015