Court greenlights PhilRealty's corporate rehab exit, will pursue luxury developments

Philippine Realty and Holdings Inc. (Philrealty) is aggressively pursuing  luxury real property developments in and outside of Metro Manila after securing the go signal from a Quezon City court to exit corporate rehabilitation program.

PhilRealty president Amador Bacani said the company on Monday received the order from Quezon City regional trial court to terminate the rehabilitation proceedings.

"This will make it official. We already settled our debts two, three years ago," he told reporters in a media briefing in Mandaluyong City.

As the court green-lit the rehabilitation exit, the company can now tap the capital markets to raise additional funding for projects, PhilRealty director Andrew Alcid said in the same briefing.

"We have no plans yet but this allows us now to tap the capital markets...to achieve the plans that we have laying out terms of our five pillars that will drive growth," he said.

The five pillars for growth include luxury residential, office, retail, masterplan townships and citizenship development projects.

The company filed for rehabilitation with the courts after it was saddled with losses following a slump in the real estate industry in 1997.

"A lot of players in the market, not just real estate but even significant businesses because the currency got devalued and all of the sudden the game changed for the economy," Alcid said.

In November 2012, the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City rejected PhilRealty's motion to exit corporate rehabilitation because it still "has substantial debt.”

Alcid said this prevented the company to borrow from banks, driving the company to finance projects through internal-generated funds.

"We are now preparing to make sure we are in the position to go back to being a major real estate developer in the market," he said.

PhilRealty is unveiling on Monday night the second phase of its P25-billion five tower, two-hectare upscale residential development in New Manila, Quezon City called Andrea North. It is the former site of the Pepsi Cola plant.

The company will also begin to work in the mixed-use vertical development in Bonifacio Glob City a s the 5,900-square meter mixed-use development in Ortigas business district.

"We will focus initially on what we have right now. Andrea North, BGC and El Pueblo," Alcid said.

On top of the current projects, PhilRealty also targets to develop masterplanned communities and leisure developments outside of Metro Manila.

Alcid said they are currently in discussions with a couple of potential partners one in south and north of the capital for masterplanned developments.

"These are very exploratory, nothing definite but they are 25 hectares each," he said.

The company also has possible leisure developments in La Union and Tagaytay.

"The plan is to have final plans for all of the projects by end of the year," Alcid added.

PhilRealty developed upscale projects in Ortigas Center, particularly the Tektite Towers – the former headquarters of the PSE – and the Alexandra, a luxury mid-rise residential condominium. — OMG, GMA News