ESR-REIT CEO Steps Down Amid Stock Slide

ESR-REIT chief executive Adrian Chui is stepping down. The 50-year-old's departure was announced in a Friday filing to the Singapore Exchange, following a 16.1 percent decline in the REIT's unit price over the past twelve months. He will remain until the board finalises transition plans. The filing stated there are no unresolved differences between Chui and the board on material matters.

This exit creates a leadership vacuum. Deputy chief executive Karen Lee Kiah Ling, 51, resigned in April 2025 and was not replaced. Neither cessation filing linked the departures to sponsor ESR Group's restructuring. ESR-REIT's equity fell over 16 percent to S$2.30 as of 28 August. The broader iEdge S-REIT Index dropped just 3.5 percent in the same period.

Portfolio Strategy and Performance

The trust has been actively managing its portfolio. In July, it agreed to buy six freehold logistics properties in Melbourne for A$341.1 million. This purchase was partly funded by selling eight non-core Singapore assets for S$338.1 million in the first half. As of 30 June, ESR-REIT held total assets of about S$5.6 billion across 62 properties in Singapore, Australia, and Japan. That valuation was down from S$5.9 billion a year earlier.

Operational metrics under Chui showed some strength. For the first half of 2026, core distribution per unit rose 4.5 percent year-on-year to 11.25 Singapore cents. The trust achieved positive rental reversions of 9.8 percent. Occupancy remained stable at 91.9 percent.

Corporate Evolution

Chui's tenure saw constant change. He joined the manager in March 2017 when it oversaw Cambridge Industrial Trust. ESR Group had acquired an 80 percent stake in the manager two months prior. The trust was renamed ESR-REIT that June. It later became ESR-LOGOS REIT after a May 2022 merger, before reverting to ESR-REIT in December 2024. Chui led throughout, making him the only CEO under all three names.

His background is in finance. Chui came from Standard Chartered Bank, where he spent eight years as managing director heading its Southeast Asia real estate business. He began his career in 2005 as a sell-side research analyst at Morgan Stanley covering Singapore-listed REITs. He later spent three years as a director at UBS Investment Bank. Chui also serves as vice president of the Real Estate Investment Trust Association of Singapore.

The sponsor, ESR Group, has been reshaping its own business after last year's privatisation. It disposed of assets and completed an $850 million equity raise in April to fund expansion. The company revamped its leadership and shed assets deemed to have limited growth potential. The board thanked Chui for his leadership and dedicated service.