Accordia Golf Trust bets on ‘new stars’ to spur interest in golf

Accordia Golf Trust, which owns a portfolio of golf courses in Japan, was the winner in the REITs and business trust sector in the inaugural Centurion Club.

The trust, which was listed on the Singapore Exchange in August 2014, owns a portfolio of 88 golf courses. As at Dec 31, 2018, the golf courses had an appraised value of about

¥144.7 billion ($1.87 billion). About 70% of the golf courses are located in the three largest metropolitan areas of Japan: Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya. For the three months to June 30, Accordia’s golf courses were used by about 1.6 million players, up 3% y-o-y, although revenue per player was down marginally by 1% y-o-y to ¥8,475. Distributable income for the quarter increased 35.2% y-o-y to ¥2,251 million, which translates into a distribution per unit of 2.57 Singapore cents, up from 1.86 cents in the year-earlier period.

The popularity of golf as a sport has been in question in recent years. Golf is quite often associated with the image of older men who talk business and cut deals while walking on the course. According to Accordia Golf Trust Management, it hopes that new star golf players, such as Hinako Shibuno, winner of the Women’s British Open, and the comeback of Ryo Ishikawa, winner of the Japan PGA Championship 2019, will spike interest among a younger generation of players — and thereby help ensure that its portfolio of golf courses remain of value.