TORONTO, Feb. 6, 2019 /PRNewswire/ - Granite Real
Estate Investment Trust ("Granite") (TSX: GRT.UN / NYSE: GRP.U)
announced today that it has agreed to acquire two properties and
has acquired a third property in the
United States collectively comprising approximately 1.7
million square feet ("SF") at a purchase price of USD 173.3 million, representing a current
in-going yield of approximately 6.0% (the "Acquisitions"). The
properties are located in key logistics markets and are 100% leased
to creditworthy tenants with a weighted average lease term of 7.7
years.
Louisville Acquisition
Granite acquired 120 Velocity Way, a 721,050 SF,
36-foot clear height e-commerce fulfillment centre situated on
41.6 acres of land in Shepherdsville,
Kentucky. The state-of-the-art facility was completed in
2018 and is 100% leased to Jet.com, a Walmart e-commerce
subsidiary, for a remaining lease term of 4.8 years. This
acquisition closed on December 3,
2018.
The property is well located within the Bullitt County submarket of Louisville, providing access to approximately
65% of the US population within a day's drive. The property offers
exceptional access to Interstate 65 and proximity to the
Louisville International Airport
and Worldport, UPS' largest worldwide air hub.
Dallas Acquisitions
201 Sunridge Boulevard
Granite has agreed to
acquire 201 Sunridge Blvd., an 822,550 SF, 30-foot clear height
distribution centre situated on 53.4 acres of land in Wilmer, Texas. Constructed in 2008, the
property is 100% leased to a subsidiary of Unilever for a remaining
lease term of 9.5 years.
The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and is
expected to close in the first quarter of 2019.
The property is located within the southeast Dallas-Fort Worth industrial market, less than
15 miles from downtown Dallas and
approximately three miles from the Union Pacific Dallas Intermodal
Terminal. The excess land on the property can support a
building expansion of up to 250,000 SF, providing attractive site
flexibility and the potential for additional income in the
future.
3501 North Lancaster Hutchins Road
Granite has
also agreed to acquire 3501 North Lancaster Hutchins Road, a 174.6
acre site, containing three buildings totalling 196,366 SF, in
Hutchins, Texas. The property is
100% leased to a leading wholesale automotive auction company, for
a remaining lease term of 10.4 years. The acquisition is subject to
customary closing conditions and expected to close in the first
quarter of 2019.
The property is also located within the southeast Dallas-Fort Worth industrial market, less than
15 miles from downtown Dallas and
approximately two miles from the Union Pacific Dallas Intermodal
Terminal. The gross leaseable area of the existing buildings
represents a site coverage ratio of only 2.6%, providing
significant potential for future development.
Granite funded the Louisville
acquisition and expects to fund the Dallas acquisitions with existing cash on
hand.
Kevan Gorrie, Granite's President
and CEO, commented that "These acquisitions further our strategy of
acquiring and developing an institutional quality portfolio in key
e-commerce and distribution markets in North America and Europe. The assets are
well located in two of our U.S. target markets and provide a strong
combination of stable and growing cash flow and significant
potential for future development. Furthermore, following our
recently announced term loan financings totalling approximately
CAD 550 million at a fixed interest
rate of 1.76% for a weighted average term of 5.6 years, we expect
these acquisitions to be highly accretive to FFO and AFFO per unit.
The financings also provide further liquidity for future
investment."
ABOUT GRANITE
Granite is a Canadian-based REIT engaged in the acquisition,
development, ownership and management of industrial, warehouse and
logistics properties in North
America and Europe. Granite
owns over 85 rental income properties representing approximately 33
million square feet of leasable area.
OTHER INFORMATION
Copies of financial data and other publicly filed documents
about Granite are available through the internet on the Canadian
Securities Administrators' Systems for Electronic Document Analysis
and Retrieval (SEDAR) which can be accessed at www.sedar.com and on
the United States Securities and Exchange Commission's Electronic
Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval System (EDGAR) which can be
accessed at www.sec.gov. For further information, please see
our website at www.granitereit.com or contact Andrea Sanelli, Manager, Legal & Investor
Services, at 647-925-7504 or Ilias
Konstantopoulos, Chief Financial Officer, at
647-925-7540.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release may contain statements that, to the extent
they are not recitations of historical fact, constitute
"forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information"
within the meaning of applicable securities legislation, including
the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the
United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended,
and applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking
statements and forward-looking information may include, among
others, statements regarding the intention of Granite and the
vendors to complete the Dallas
acquisitions on the terms and conditions described herein, the date
on which closing of the Dallas
acquisitions is expected to occur, Granite's intended source of
funds for the Dallas acquisitions,
Granite's intention or ability to build additional buildings or
expansions at the acquired sites, the expected impact of the
Acquisitions on Granite's funds from operations and adjusted funds
from operations per unit, Granite's ability to make future
investments, and Granite's plans, goals, strategies,
intentions, beliefs, estimates, costs, objectives, economic
performance, expectations, or foresight or the assumptions
underlying any of the foregoing. Words such as "may", "would",
"could", "will", "likely", "expect", "anticipate", "believe",
"intend", "plan", "forecast", "project", "estimate", "seek",
"objective" and similar expressions are used to identify
forward-looking statements and forward-looking information.
Forward-looking statements and forward-looking information should
not be read as guarantees of the closing of the Dallas acquisitions on the terms described
herein, the date on which closing is expected to occur, Granite's
intended source of funds for the Dallas acquisitions, Granite's intention or
ability to build additional buildings or expansions at the acquired
sites, the expected impact of the Acquisitions on Granite's funds
from operations and adjusted funds from operations per unit,
Granite's ability to make future investments, or other events,
performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate
indications of whether or the times at or by which such impact of
the Acquisitions or other events or performance will be
achieved. Undue reliance should not be placed on such
statements. Forward-looking statements and forward-looking
information are based on information available at the time and/or
management's good faith assumptions and analyses made in light of
its perception of historical trends, current conditions and
expected future developments, as well as other factors management
believes are appropriate in the circumstances, and are subject to
known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other unpredictable
factors, many of which are beyond Granite's control, that could
cause actual events or results to differ materially from such
forward-looking statements and forward-looking information.
Important factors that could cause such differences include, but
are not limited to, the risks set forth in the annual information
form of Granite Real Estate Investment Trust and Granite REIT
Inc. dated March 1, 2018 (the "Annual
Information Form"). The "Risk Factors" section of the Annual
Information Form also contains information about the material
factors or assumptions underlying such forward-looking statements
and forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements
and forward-looking information speak only as of the date the
statements and information were made and unless otherwise required
by applicable securities laws, Granite expressly disclaims any
intention and undertakes no obligation to update or revise any
forward-looking statements or forward-looking information contained
in this press release to reflect subsequent information, events or
circumstances or otherwise.
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SOURCE Granite Real Estate Investment Trust