Kuala Lumpur: Eco World International Bhd is acquiring a 70 per cent stake in United Kingdom (UK)-based Be Living Holdings Ltd for RM356 million.The acquisition would be carried out in two stages, with the first to be concluded by the first quarter of 2018, it said.
With the acquisition, Eco World said it planned to jointly develop a dozen sites scattered in Greater London and Southeastern England with a gross development value (GDV) of RM14 billion.
Be Living is the development arm of prominent UK contractor and developer, Willmott Dixon Holdings Ltd.
Eco World President and Chief Executive, Teow Leong Seng, said the new venture would allow the group to strengthen its position in the country, particularly in catering for the demand in the build-to-rent sub-sector and private rental sector.
"Momentum is still intact post-Brexit and the group still has RM2 billion sales, excluding the new development projects signed today," he said to reporters after the Memorandum of Understanding signing ceremony with Be Living, here, Friday.
Teow said the company's development presence in the UK would potentially increase by fourfold with some 8,200 units to be added to its existing portfolio once the acquisition is completed.
Eco World currently has five overseas projects, of which three are located in the UK and two in Australia, with a total GDV of £5 billion (£1=RM5.49).
Meanwhile, the group's pre-tax profit for the financial year ended Oct 31, 2017 surged to RM282.61 million from RM193.18 million in 2016.
Revenue rose to RM2.92 billion from RM2.55 billion previously. – Bernama
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