The trust says that 2021 is its breakout year
Nexus Real Estate Investment Trust has announced that it has waived conditions on the acquisition of a portfolio of three distribution centres located in Saskatchewan and New Brunswick.
The properties will be acquired for approximately $230.4 million. The sum is expected to be funded with the net proceeds from the REIT’s $75-million public offering of trust units, along with approximately $172.4 million from new mortgage financing.
The REIT also announced entry into two purchase and sale agreements to acquire five industrial properties. Combined with an Alberta industrial acquisition on Aug. 12, Nexus REIT said that the aggregate purchase price for the properties will be $128.6 million.
“The REIT anticipates that the purchase price for certain of the additional industrial acquisitions will be funded by the issuance of Class B LP Units, cash on hand, assumed mortgage financing on the properties and the proceeds from new mortgage financing,” Nexus said in its announcement.
Read more: Major REIT completes industrial acquisitions in Alberta and Manitoba
Overall, the REIT is expecting an additional 2.5 million square feet of gross leasable area to its income-producing portfolio.
“This is truly a breakout year for the REIT. We are pleased with the significant progress we have made this year toward our goal of transforming into a pure-play industrial REIT,” said Kelly Hanczyk, CEO of Nexus. “Upon closing of the announced transactions, we will have completed over $640 million of industrial acquisitions since the beginning of 2021. Our industrial portfolio weighting will increase to approximately 80% of NOI, well surpassing our previously stated goal of 75%.”
Hanczyk said that these acquisitions, in particular, are “highly compelling and consistent with our stated strategy.”
“The pipeline of asset acquisition opportunities in exchange for units from our London vendor reinforces their commitment to Nexus and their belief in the REIT’s strong growth fundamentals,” Hanczyk said. “We continue to see good industrial acquisition opportunities across Canada and expect strong fundamentals and momentum in the asset class to persist.”
