Cebu Landmasters acquires resort in Mactan

September 13, 2019 | 12:06 am [ bworldonline.com ]

CEBU Landmasters, Inc. (CLI) is expanding its hospitality business with the acquisition of Abaca Resort Mactan in Cebu. — COMPANY HANDOUT

CEBU Landmasters, Inc. (CLI) will be redeveloping the Abaca Resort Mactan in Cebu as part of efforts to expand its hospitality business.

In a statement issued Thursday, the listed property developer said it acquired the 4,328-square meter luxury resort in the Punta Engano area of Mactan island from The Abaca Group.

CLI will be turning the nine-room Abaca Resort into a 100-room all-suite luxury development by 2023. The resort will close in February 2020 to make way for the redevelopment.

The company will hire a foreign architect to design the project’s masterplan, which is seen to include a resort tower that will house Sky Villas.

The company has also signed a hotel management agreement with The Abaca Group to maintain the quality of operations in the resort.

“CLI and The Abaca Group will create world-class synergies that will allow us to maximize tourism opportunities in Cebu, a booming growth area supported by large-scale infrastructure development projects such as Terminal 2 of the Mactan Cebu International Airport,” CLI Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jose R. Soberano III said in a statement.

For his part, The Abaca Group Founder Jason Hyatt said the redevelopment will help further grow Cebu’s tourism and hospitality industry.

“We have been approached by several developers to expand the brand… Having this unique partnership and opportunity to manage a premier property developed by the region’s premier developer is a significant step towards our vision of breaking out as the country’s top homegrown luxury hotel group,” CLI quoted Mr. Hyatt as saying in a statement.

This marks CLI’s second resort project in Mactan, after it also acquired the two-hectare Lowaii Marine Cebu Resort on the southern side of the island.

The company currently has 58 projects in different stages of development in the Visayas and Mindanao regions.

CLI has committed to spend P13 billion in capital expenditures this year, as it launches 29 new projects that can generate sales of about P25 billion. This will add 7,517 residential condominium units, 1,223 hotel rooms, and 161,034 square meters of gross leasable area under its portfolio.

Earlier this year, CLI said it is looking for about five to 20 hectares of land in the cities of General Santos and Butuan that can be turned into residential subdivisions targeted toward mid-income families.

CLI’s net income attributable to the parent went up 13% to P854.34 million in the first half of 2019, after revenues jumped 34% to P3.495 billion.

Shares in CLI rose 1.28% or six centavos to close at P4.75 each at the stock exchange on Thursday. — Arra B. Francia

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