Counsel Corporation has completed the USD140m sale of a real estate portfolio to Retrocom Mid-Market Real Estate Investment Trust. The portfolio consists of seven commercial retail properties totaling in excess of 800,000 square feet of gross leasable area, located in Ontario and New Brunswick.
Retrocom assumed the USD60.3 million of existing mortgage debt on the portfolio and, As of closing, has hired Counsel to manage the properties.
Counsel had, approximately, a 20% equity interest in six of the properties, which it managed for its own account and on behalf of third party investors. In addition, Counsel has a carried interest in the earnings generated for the third party investors. The seventh property, 870 Red River Road in Thunder Bay, was owned by Terra Firma Capital Corporation (TSX VENTURE:TII), a TSX Venture Exchange-listed company that is managed, and 23%-owned, by Counsel. The portion of the purchase price allocated to the Red River Road property was approximately USD2.7 million.
"The sale of the Portfolio is consistent with our mandate to acquire, redevelop and improve quality real estate product for the investor marketplace," say Allan Silber, Chairman & CEO of Counsel. "Since 2006 we have been acquiring and adding value to a select set of real estate assets that meet our investment criteria, for our account and on behalf of our partners. We believe we have created significant value in the portfolio by executing on our proactive asset management strategy and that current market conditions provide an opportune time to realise on this value creation. Counsel will continue to seek out new and compelling opportunities to build on our successful real estate track record."
