N@N

Whiterock Announces $82 Million Acquisition of 401 &; 405 The West Mall in Toronto, Ontario

_{//business-finance.news-articles.net/content/200 .. of-401-405-the-west-mall-in-toronto-ontario.html}
^{Published in Business and Finance on Tuesday, August 11th 2009 at 5:09 GMT, Last Modified on 2009-08-11 05:09:19 by Market Wire}  

 TORONTO, Aug. 11 /CNW/ - Whiterock Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX:WRK.UN) announced today that it has entered into a binding contract, subject to customary closing conditions, to acquire 401 & 405 The West Mall located in Toronto for $82.3 million before closing costs. Whiterock will have a 40% equity interest in the property, a long-term property management contract and a right of first opportunity to purchase the partner's interest in the asset. Whiterock's partner on this acquisition is an established institutional investor that focuses on high quality properties in primary markets, with visible growing cash flow streams backed by solid covenants and longer term leases. Whiterock's equity investment in this property, after assumption of the existing debt, will be approximately $9.8 million, with an in-place AFFO return of 22%. Whiterock intends to use cash on hand and its recently renewed $40 million acquisition and operating facility, which currently has no amount outstanding, to finance its investment. On acquisition, the in-place AFFO from the property will add approximately $0.32 per unit to Whiterock's annualized AFFO. "This acquisition is the beginning of an exciting era at Whiterock where our full service real estate platform can be leveraged through partnerships with high quality institutions, to produce outsize returns to our investors from top quality real estate, as clearly demonstrated from the 22% AFFO yield on this $10 million equity investment," said Jason Underwood, CEO. 401 & 405 The West Mall is a 99% leased Class A multi-tenant office building with 411,135 square feet of office space in two adjacent 11 storey towers, and 1,200 parking stalls. The property is well located with direct access to Highway 427 in the heart of the Greater Toronto Area, and is only 10 minutes from Pearson International Airport. The building is occupied by a solid mix of high quality multi-national tenants including Parmalat, Diageo, Auto Trader, Livingston and RBC. In-place rents are below market, with an average lease term remaining of 7 years. The building has undergone over $20 million of improvements over the last 7 years including new lobby and atrium areas, new windows, upgraded HVAC equipment, and significant tenant area improvements. The transaction is scheduled to close at the end of August 2009. On acquisition, Whiterock's portfolio will total 3.4 million square feet across 44 properties, with a weighted average lease term of over 7 years. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may", "will", "expect" "estimate", "anticipate", "intend", "believe" or "continue", the negative forms thereof and similar expressions suggesting future outcomes or events. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on information currently available to management. These statements are not guarantees of future events or performance and, by their nature, are based on Whiterock's estimates and assumptions, which are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual events, results or prospects to be materially different from those expressed or implied herein. Readers are cautioned that a number of factors, including those discussed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in Whiterock's Annual Information Form which can be obtained at [ www.sedar.com ], could cause actual events, results or prospects to differ materially from those stated or implied. These factors should be considered carefully, and a reader should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as there can be no assurance that actual events, results or prospects will be consistent with such statements. In particular, but without limitation, there can be no assurance that Whiterock will be to able to continue to increase its AFFO. Material factors or assumptions that were applied in drawing a conclusion or making an estimate set out in the forward-looking information may include, but are not limited to: a less robust leasing environment than has been seen for the last several years; relatively stable interest costs; an increase in acquisition capitalization rates and more limited access to equity and debt capital markets to fund, at acceptable costs, Whiterock's growth plans, and to enable Whiterock to refinance its debts as they mature. Except as required by law, Whiterock does not undertake, and specifically disclaims, any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. The Toronto Stock Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. %SEDAR: 00022234E 

For further information: [ www.whiterockreit.ca ]; Jason Underwood, (416) 907-4861; Paul Simcox, (416) 907-4862; Frank Bucys, CFO, (416) 907-4864