The Ascott Limited

The Ascott Limited

Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Hospitality
Founded	1984
Headquarters	Singapore
Number of locations	Over 82 cities
Key people	Lee Chee Koon, CEO^[1]
Number of employees	5,000^[2]
Website	www.the-ascott.com

The Ascott Limited is the world's largest international serviced residence owner-operator with over 22,000 operating serviced residence units in key cities of Asia Pacific, Europe and the Gulf region, as well as over 10,000 units which are under development, making a total of more than 33,000 units in over more than 200 properties.^[3] Its portfolio spans over 82 cities across more than 20 countries.

The Ascott Limited is a wholly owned 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

A new Ascott building rising in Bonifacio Global City, Metro Manila, Philippines

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 1 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 Raffles Place Singapore formerly a heritage building restored from its 1950 splendour, is an exclusive residence located in the CBD area.

Located in the business districts in 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 are Ascott Sathorn Bangkok, Ascott Kuala Lumpur, and Ascott Guangzhou, which came in top 3 for Serviced Residences in the Asia-Pacific region.^[14]

Ascott The Residence provides a range of serviced residence type ranging from studio 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).

Citadines Holborn-Covent Garden London

Citadines Apart'Hotel

The apart'hotels allows guests to choose only the services they require and are mainly located in metropolitan cities. Most of its apart'hotels can be found in Europe like Belgium, France, Georgia, Germany, Spain and United Kingdom. Citadines offer apartment types ranging from studio to two-bedroom with living room and kitchen.

Somerset Ampang Kuala Lumpur

Somerset Serviced Residence

Somerset serviced residences are located mainly at the fringe of cities across the globe. These residences can be used by executives or families on vacations. They also provide various gatherings and activities^[15] for guests from time to time to help them get settled down.

Most apartments include kitchens, separate dining areas and living areas to modern and business services. Its residence type ranges from studios to large three bedroom units.

Awards and Accolades

Best Serviced Residence Brand (Business Traveller Asia Pacific Awards 2004-2010^[16]^[17]^[18]^[19])

Best Serviced Residence Company (Business Traveller UK Awards 2007-2010^[20]^[21]^[22]^[23])

Best Serviced Residence Brand in China (Business Traveller China 2005-2010^[24]^[25]^[26]^[27])

Best Serviced Residence in Asia Pacific (DestinAsian Readers Choice Awards 2008-2011^[28]^[29]^[30]^[31])

Membership

The Ascott Limited introduced its membership schemes for all of its 3 brands. This free online membership allows members to receive perks like special member rates and member promotions. In addition, members receive promotional offers through the regular newsletters across the year.