MANILA - Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) is set to create a wholly-owned subsidiary that will manage the company's small-format retail facilities or "neighborhood centers."

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Friday, ALI said its board has approved the incorporation and capitalization of Primavera Town Centre Inc., which will have an initial infusion of P320 million.

"This is in line with the company's growth strategy to expand its market and geographic reach to serve broader economic segments in more areas across the country," ALI said.

ALI said Primavera will fund the development of 5 new neighborhood centers within 2010, with another 3 to 6 neigborhood centers to be added to the portfolio in each of the succeeding 4 years.

The new facilities will be located in areas such as Makati, Bonifacio Global City, Nuvali, and "other potential growth centers in and around Luzon," ALI said.

"Neighborhood centers will offer a convenient shopping and lifestyle experience to the immediate mixed-use communities in these growth centers, and will have a maximum size of 10,000 square meters of gross leasable area," ALI said.

Profits of ALI grew 23% to P1.256 billion from July to September on lower costs and higher revenues. The company's expenses dropped 8% to P6.591 billion during the period, while revenues rose 17% to P8.2 billion.