Business & Finance
Tue, March 1, 2011Mon, February 28, 2011Sun, February 27, 2011Sat, February 26, 2011Fri, February 25, 2011Thu, February 24, 2011Wed, February 23, 2011Tue, February 22, 2011Mon, February 21, 2011Sun, February 20, 2011Fri, February 18, 2011HOMBURG CANADA REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST CLOSES $84.35 MILLION ACQUISITION OF RETAIL PROPERTIES
Published in Business and Finance on Thursday, February 24th 2011 at 14:00 GMT by Market Wire
MONTREAL, Feb. 24 /CNW Telbec/ - Homburg Canada Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX: HCR.UN) (the "REIT") announced today that it has closed two of three previously announced transactions to acquire properties in the retail segment of the market. The REIT has closed the transactions to acquire Place Longueuil, a 397,600-square-foot regional shopping centre located in Longueuil, Quebec, and Les Halles de l'Île, a 16,650-square-foot neighbourhood shopping centre located on Nuns' Island in Montreal. The previously announced transaction to acquire Carrefour Les Saules, a 159,138-square-foot community shopping centre located in Quebec City, is expected to be completed before the end of the first quarter of 2011.
The $84.35 million gross purchase price was satisfied through the assumption of debt in place on the two properties totalling $46.27 million and the use of cash on hand from the proceeds of the REIT's second public offering in October 2010.
"These two quality assets fit perfectly within our strategy of expanding our holdings of office and retail properties and will be accretive to the REIT's current adjusted funds from operations," said Jim Beckerleg, President and Chief Executive Officer of the REIT. "With the addition of Place Longueuil, we now have a strong corridor presence comprising downtown Montreal and its two major suburban areas, Laval and the South Shore," Mr. Beckerleg added. "The properties are close to our strong existing Montreal management platform and will therefore be easily absorbed. These portfolio additions augur well for growth in the rest of 2011. We continue to cultivate an active pipeline of acquisitions that we hope will augment our 2011 growth even further," Mr. Beckerleg concluded.
Place Longueuil
Place Longueuil serves at a strategic high density entry point into the growing and high-density South Shore of Montreal - the second largest suburban region in the Greater Montreal area. A significant enclosed shopping centre for the immediate and surrounding population, Place Longueuil is located on 28.4 acres of land and comprises 397,600 square feet of gross leasable area, including 67,112 square feet of second floor office space, and 1,780 parking stalls. The centre is strategically located on the South Shore of the St. Lawrence River, in close proximity to the Jacques-Cartier Bridge and the Victoria Bridge, highways 10, 15, 20, 116, 132 and 134 and the Longueuil metro station, a main public transportation hub and the only metro station serving the South Shore of Montreal. The Longueuil metro station complex is also home to a University of Sherbrooke campus and an HEC Montréal campus. Place Longueuil is 98.35% leased and the five major tenants, Revenu Québec, Zellers, IGA, Sport Experts and Dollarama, account for approximately 54% of the gross leasable area. The remaining gross leasable area is occupied by 128 retail and service tenants.
Les Halles de l'Île
Located in the very affluent and growing residential neighbourhood of Nuns' Island in Montreal, Les Halles de l'Île is a Class "A" neighbourhood strip centre that services the everyday needs of the island community. The two-storey centre comprises 16,650 square feet of gross leasable area, 0.94 acres of land and 60 parking spaces. It is advantageously situated on Place du Commerce, Nuns' Island's central retail area, at the junction of the Champlain Bridge and Bonaventure Highway, which respectively connect the island with Montreal's South Shore and with downtown Montreal. It also benefits from convenient access to highways 10, 15 and 20. The centre is 100% leased, with 56% of the gross leasable area being occupied by major tenants Isola Salon & Spa, Hogg Hardware and Second Cup.
About Homburg Canada Real Estate Investment Trust
Homburg Canada Real Estate Investment Trust is an unincorporated open-ended real estate investment trust established pursuant to a declaration of trust under the laws of the Province of Quebec. Managed internally, the REIT owns a portfolio of Canadian income-producing commercial properties, consisting mainly of retail and office properties with certain industrial properties, as well as certain income-producing multi-family residential properties. The properties comprise approximately 7.3 million square feet of commercial gross leasable area and 1,725 multi-family residential units located in Quebec, Atlantic Canada, Western Canada and Ontario.
Forward-looking Statements
This news release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking information is based on a number of assumptions and is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the REIT's control that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those that are disclosed in or implied by such forward-looking information. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the factors discussed under "Risk Factors" in its IPO prospectus, dated May 14, 2010.
The REIT's objectives and forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions, including that (i) the REIT will receive financing on favourable terms; (ii) the future level of indebtedness of the REIT and its future growth potential will remain consistent with the REIT's current expectations; (iii) there will be no changes to tax laws adversely affecting the REIT's financing capacity or operations; (iv) the impact of the current economic climate and the current global financial conditions on the REIT's operations, including its financing capacity and asset value, will remain consistent with the REIT's current expectations; (v) the performance of the REIT's investments in Canada will proceed on a basis consistent with the REIT's current expectations; and (vi) capital markets will provide the REIT with readily available access to equity and/or debt.
The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. All forward-looking statements in this press release are made as of the date of this press release. The REIT, except as required by applicable securities legislation, does not undertake to update any such forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additional information about these assumptions and risks and uncertainties is contained in the REIT's filings with securities regulatory authorities, which are available on SEDAR at [ www.sedar.com ].
