BPI Capital, Templeton invest in PULS

MANILA, Philippines – BPI Capital Corp., a unit of Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands, has partnered with Templeton Strategic Emerging Markets Fund IV LDC to invest in a leading developer, owner, and manager of affordable housing solutions in the country.

Philippines Urban Living Solutions Inc. (PULS) that owns the “MyTown” brand announced yesterday the placement of convertible notes to a consortium including Templeton as lead investor and BPI Capital as a co-investor.

BPI Capital acted as financial advisor to PULS.

The parties have agreed not to disclose the financial terms of the transaction.

Proceeds from the convertible notes would be used to partially finance the construction of approximately 3,000 apartment units as well as expand the PULS land bank.

Mark Arellano-Kooijman, co-founder and chief executive officer at PULS, said the company intends to improve the lives of these people by allowing young professionals to live in quality rental accommodation, at walking distance from their work.

“Millions of young professionals in Metro Manila suffer from the chronic lack of quality yet affordable rental accommodation near their place of work. They typically commute for over two hours daily in unreliable public transport or live in subpar housing simply because no large scale developments currently exist to provide quality affordable rental housing to this demographic,” he said.

PULS co-founder Steven Zwaan said the developer aims to build a sizeable portfolio of housing for young professionals on the back of this investment.

“We believe there is a pressing need for a new lifestyle concept designed especially for the modern young professional. Moreover, the fierce employee talent war in the Philippines makes attracting and retaining staff a top priority, and providing staff housing is quickly becoming a topic among corporate employers,” Zwaan said.