Firm Capital Property Trust Acquires Stake in Montreal Industrial Portfolio

By Alex Girda, Associate Editor

Montreal—Firm Capital Property Trust recently announced that it is in contract for the purchase of a 50 percent participation in a portfolio deal. The total deal includes a number of 25 industrial buildings in the Montreal area and constitutes a $48.2 million investment, excluding transaction costs. Firm Capital will is sourcing the necessary funds for its stake from existing cash resources, as well as a Board of Trustees approved non-brokered private placement of up to $8.0 million at $5.10 per trust unit.

The 25 properties that comprise the portfolio that Firm Capital Property Trust has acquired a stake in offer a total of 1,029,898 square feet of industrial space. A total of 90 tenants currently occupy about 90 percent of the portfolio’s available space. Building included in the deal offer great proximity to the Trans-Canada Highway, as well as the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport.

Firm Capital Property Trust is a company currently set on entering joint ventures to co-own a diversified property portfolio featuring flex industrial, multifamily, net lease convenience retail and core service provider professional space. The impact of the acquisition on the property trust will be primarily indicated by the value of its current portfolio, which will jump to approximately $58 million and will grow to 30 properties. The buy will also contribute to the portfolio by widening the range of space that the Trust is active in, adding industrial assets to the current medical and retail properties.

Financing for the $48 million acquisition will be provided through a new first mortgage from a Canadian Chartered Bank for proceeds of approximately $32 million. Current long-term financing interest rates are somewhere between 3.75 percent and 4.5 percent, depending on the term of the loan. The last details of the deal are projected to be finalized by the end of this month.