NEW
GLASGOW, NS, Sept. 30,
2024 /CNW/ - Crombie Real Estate Investment Trust
("Crombie") (TSX: CRR.UN) announced today that it has entered into
a binding agreement to acquire the remaining 50% of Zephyr, in
Vancouver, British Columbia, from
its partner, Westbank Corp., for an aggregate purchase price of
$133 million. Through this
acquisition, Crombie will now own 100% of the residential
component, in addition to its existing full ownership of the ground
floor grocery-anchored retail. The acquisition is scheduled to
close in October 2024, subject to
Competition Bureau approval.
"We are pleased to announce that upon closing of this
transaction, Crombie will become the sole owner of one of
Canada's premier rental
residential assets. Zephyr is in one of the country's top markets
and further enriches the quality of our rental residential
platform," said Mark Holly,
President and CEO. "The acquisition delivers on our strategy of
optimizing our portfolio and to own and operate high-quality assets
in vibrant community hubs that serve the everyday essential needs
of Canadians. Our strong financial condition allowed us to pursue
this important opportunity providing immediate recurring cash flow
with significant future growth potential."
Built in 2021, Zephyr is a mixed-use residential asset anchored
by Safeway and includes other complementary necessity-based
retailers. Well-located in the West End of downtown Vancouver, offering panoramic views of English
Bay and Stanley Park, Zephyr is
comprised of two residential towers, totalling 330 rental suites,
and was 93.9% occupied at June 30,
2024. This community of homes is focused on living-locally
and enjoys a high walkability score in a city ranked among the most
walkable cities in the world.
As a result of the acquisition, Crombie will fully consolidate
Zephyr and assume the additional 50% of existing mortgages,
equivalent to approximately $89
million, with remaining term to maturity of over three years
with the balance of the purchase price funded by drawing on a new
unsecured bank credit facility. Together, the debt has an
attractive blended interest rate of 3.4%.
About Crombie REIT
Crombie invests in real estate with a vision of enriching
communities together by building spaces and value today that leave
a positive impact on tomorrow. As one of the country's leading
owners, operators, and developers of quality real estate assets,
Crombie's portfolio primarily includes grocery-anchored retail,
retail-related industrial, and mixed-use residential properties. As
at June 30, 2024, our portfolio
contains 304 properties comprising approximately 19.3 million
square feet, inclusive of joint ventures at Crombie's share, and a
significant pipeline of future development projects. Learn more at
www.crombie.ca.
Cautionary Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that
reflect the current expectations of management of Crombie about
Crombie's future results, performance, achievements, prospects, and
opportunities. Wherever possible, words such as "may", "will",
"estimate"," anticipate", "believe", "expect", "intend", and
similar expressions have been used to identify these
forward-looking statements.
Specifically, this press release includes forward-looking
statements regarding anticipated timing for completion of the
acquisition and the impact of the acquisition on the quality of
Crombie's residential platform. Forward-looking statements
necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. A
number of factors, including the timing and need for regulatory
approval, and those discussed in the 2023 annual Management's
Discussion and Analysis under "Risk Management" and the Annual
Information Form for the year ended December
31, 2023 under "Risks", could cause actual results,
performance, achievements, prospects, or opportunities to differ
materially from the results discussed or implied in the
forward-looking statements. These factors should be considered
carefully, and a reader should not place undue reliance on the
forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that the
expectations of management of Crombie will prove to be
correct, and Crombie can give no assurance that actual results will
be consistent with these forward-looking statements.
SOURCE Crombie REIT