Vistamalls: Nearly all malls, offices resume operations

Vistamalls Inc., the commercial division of Vista Land and Lifescapes Inc., on Thursday said almost all of its shopping malls and offices have resumed operations after the government eased quarantine restrictions.

The company, formerly called Starmalls Inc., said some 95 percent of its 101 commercial assets are now operational. These include 31 malls, 63 commercial centers and 7 business process outsourcing (BPO) offices.

“Our commercial spaces were designed to operate alongside e-commerce from the beginning by having anchor tenants that are considered essential such as home improvement stores, supermarkets, and food establishments,” company chairman Manuel B. Villar Jr. said.

The strategy “unexpectedly” made its commercial assets “pandemic proof” as well, he said.

“During GCQ [general community quarantine], 79 percent of our gross floor area [GFA] was already operating and it has increased to 95 percent at present due to the further easing of quarantine restrictions by the government, as most of our tenants are providing essential services during this pandemic,” he said.

For January to September, the company generated rental revenues of P4.9 billion or a 10-percent fall from the same period last year. Compared to most of the industry players, the company said its better results are due to the nature of its tenants as well as the captive market it enjoys since 75 percent of its commercial assets are located within the Vista Land communities.

The pandemic has greatly affected the leasing economy but BPO office spaces showed a lot of promise and resilience amid the health crisis, it said.

“In our case, 15 percent of our GFA is composed of BPO offices with an occupancy rate of 99 percent. This, in addition to the improving performance of our malls suggests the great potential of doing a real estate investments trust with our current leasing portfolio,” Manuel Paolo A. Villar, Vistamalls president, said.

He noted that despite the 10 percent year-on-year decline in the group’s rental revenues in January to September, its performance demonstrates its portfolio’s strong fundamentals and ability to recover once the health crisis is over.