Allied to Acquire Ownership Interest in 400 West Georgia and Increase Ownership Interest in 19 Duncan
March 11 2024 - 4:02PM
Allied Properties Real Estate Investment Trust ("Allied") (TSX:
"AP.UN") today announced that it will acquire an ownership interest
in 400 West Georgia Street in Vancouver (“400 West Georgia”) and
increase its ownership interest in 19 Duncan Street in Toronto (“19
Duncan”).
400 West Georgia is comprised of 345,034 square
feet of office GLA, 5,525 square feet of retail GLA and 163
underground parking stalls. The property is 82% leased to Deloitte,
Apple, Northeastern University, Spaces, RBC, a local café and a
local restaurant, all with a weighted-average lease term of just
over 11 years. The property was designed to a LEED Platinum
standard. Westbank developed and currently owns the property.
Allied provided a $198 million secured mezzanine loan to Westbank
(the “Mezzanine Loan”) in connection with the development. The
property is subject to secured financing in the amount of $250
million.
19 Duncan is comprised of 154,074 square feet of
office GLA, 15,411 square feet of retail GLA, 464
rental-residential units, related common areas and facilities, 25
underground commercial parking stalls and 106 underground
residential parking stalls. The property was designed to a LEED
Gold standard. The office component is fully leased to Thomson
Reuters with a weighted-average lease term of 9.4 years. The
rental-residential component is expected to be leased over the
remainder of 2024. Allied and Westbank currently own the property
in equal shares. The property is subject to construction financing
of up to $295 million.
Allied will convert $130.5 million of the
Mezzanine Loan to equity in exchange for a 90% undivided interest
in 400 West Georgia. The transaction will be based on a total
property value of $395 million. Allied intends to reduce the
secured financing over the course of 2024 and into 2025 by selling
less-strategic properties in Toronto (primarily in response to
unsolicited offers to purchase). Allied will manage the property
from January 1, 2025, onward.
Allied will increase its ownership in 19 Duncan
to a 95% undivided interest by converting the remaining $67.5
million of the Mezzanine Loan to equity and making a cash payment
to Westbank of $36.3 million. The amount payable in cash will be
funded in part with the proceeds from the TELUS Sky reorganization
and in part through the sale of less-strategic assets in Montréal
(primarily in response to unsolicited offers to purchase). The
transaction will be based on a total property value of $525.7
million.
Allied expects to complete the transactions in
relation to 400 West Georgia and 19 Duncan in early April, subject
only to Competition Act approval and customary closing conditions.
The transactions will reduce Westbank’s debt to Allied materially
and afford Allied a large ownership position in two triple-A urban
properties as they near successful completion and full lease-up.
The transactions will put modest and temporary upward pressure on
Allied’s total indebtedness ratio and net debt as a multiple of
Annualized Adjusted EBITDA. Management expects the upward pressure
to abate and the ongoing strengthening of Allied’s debt metrics to
continue in late 2024 and beyond as a result of (i) contemplated
property sales in 2024 and (ii) EBITDA growth on achievement of
full lease-up of the properties, particularly the
rental-residential component of 19 Duncan. The transactions will
also put modest and temporary downward pressure on Allied’s
cashflow per unit. Management expects the downward pressure to
abate in 2025 and beyond as the properties reach full lease-up.
Allied completed the sale of its UDC portfolio
in 2023. In addition to the considerable benefits outlined at the
time, the transaction prompted real estate market participants to
make unsolicited offers to purchase specific properties from
Allied, particularly in Montréal and Toronto. Over the course of
2024 and into 2025, Allied will work toward selling less-strategic
properties in its portfolio at IFRS value for aggregate proceeds of
up to $200 million. The proceeds will be used (i) to fund the
modest incremental allocation of capital associated with the
increase in ownership of 19 Duncan and (ii) to continue the ongoing
strengthening of Allied’s debt-metrics. For Allied, a
less-strategic property is generally one that is smaller in size
and not an integral part of a major concentration or assembly of
distinctive urban workspace in its portfolio. There appears to be
considerable demand for such property in Montréal and Toronto, and
Allied expects to pursue most sales privately rather than through a
public-offering process.
Allied expects to complete the previously
announced reorganization of ownership of TELUS Sky before the end
of the second quarter. “The three transactions (TELUS Sky, 400 West
Georgia and 19 Duncan), along with our contemplated property sales
in Montréal and Toronto, will continue the ongoing upgrade of our
urban workspace portfolio and establish our urban
rental-residential portfolio in a concrete, material and timely
way,” said Michael Emory, Founder & Executive Chair. ”Within a
short period of time, these transactions will continue the ongoing
strengthening of our debt-metrics and propel growth in our cashflow
per unit.”
Cautionary Statements
This press release may contain forward-looking
statements with respect to (i) Allied, (ii) its operations,
strategy, financial performance and condition and (iii) the
expected impact of the transactions contemplated in this press
release. These statements generally can be identified by use of
forward-looking words such as “may”, “will”, “expect”, “estimate”,
“anticipate”, “intends”, “believe” or “continue” or the negative
thereof or similar variations. In particular, this news release
contains forward-looking statements pertaining to a possible
transaction related to Allied’s portfolio.
Such statements are qualified in their entirety
by the inherent risks and uncertainties surrounding future
expectations, including that the transactions contemplated herein
are completed and have the expected impact on funding and earnings.
Important factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from expectations include, among other things, financing
and interest rates, access to capital, general economic and market
conditions, lease roll-over and other factors described under
“Risks and Uncertainties” in Allied’s Annual MD&A, which is
available at www.sedarplus.ca. These cautionary statements qualify
all forward-looking statements attributable to Allied and persons
acting on Allied’s behalf. Unless otherwise stated, all
forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press
release and, except as required by applicable law, Allied has no
obligation to update such statements.
About Allied
Allied is a leading owner-operator of
distinctive urban workspace in Canada’s major cities. Allied’s
mission is to provide knowledge-based organizations with workspace
that is sustainable and conducive to human wellness, creativity,
connectivity and diversity. Allied’s vision is to make a continuous
contribution to cities and culture that elevates and inspires the
humanity in all people.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE
CONTACT:
Michael EmoryFounder & Executive Chair(416)
977-9002memory@alliedreit.com
Cecilia C. WilliamsPresident & Chief Executive Officer(416)
977-9002cwilliams@alliedreit.com
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