How Sobeys screwed up the Safeway takeover

How Sobeys screwed up the Safeway takeover

Seeing strawberries out of stock again was the final straw for long-time Safeway shopper Kevin Wipf.  The Calgary resident is one of hundreds of consumers who are still taking to social media to complain about the grocer in the wake of Sobey Inc.’s messy takeover of the Western Canadian grocery chain — even though the acquisition happened close to three years ago.

Financial Post

Airbnb open to market regulations in large cities

With growing threats of regulation in cities across Canada, Airbnb says it’s open to some restrictions tailored to tight rental markets like Vancouver’s, including banning hosts from using the popular online platform to run a business renting out multiple units.  Airbnb has hired Alexandra Dagg to lobby governments across Canada in an effort to get ahead of the growing movement to regulate, restrict and tax the service.

Globe and Mail

AIMCo cements WPT Industrial REIT relationship with deal

Last month WPT Industrial REIT (WIR.U-T) announced a large second investment in the trust by Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) which raised its stake to approximately 30%.  The deal to acquire approximately 10% of the trust’s shares was done to avoid tripping a poison pill shareholder rights agreement that was waived at the trust’s annual meeting this spring. It follows a deal in January by AIMCo to buy a 19.9% holding in WPT.

Property Biz Canada

Solving Alberta’s hotel crisis

Alberta’s tourism industry is facing an economic dichotomy, as chockablock resorts in the Rockies report one of their best years while hotels in other parts of the province struggle to simply remain open.  In 2015-16, the provincial tourism levy brought in $10.7 million less than in 2014-15 it was $91.5 million and the average occupancy rate of hotels dropped close to 10 per cent.

Calgary Herald

Vachon to manage Hilton hotels in East Village

Opening a new hotel must be quite a formidable task; but Christopher Vachon has all of the experience necessary to welcome guests to the Hilton Garden Inn Calgary Downtown and Homewood Suites by Hilton when they open doors in East Village on September 20 – it is his 10th hospitality opening.  Vachon previously worked for a hotel management company in Ontario, HHC Hotels in Kansas City and a Homewood Suites in Colorado Springs.

Calgary Herald

Hamilton’s historic Pasadena to become new condo

Paven Bratch had great success in restoring a 142-year-old building in downtown Hamilton into the popular Radius restaurant and will try to duplicate it with the nearby The Pasadena condominium.  “I know the perils and joys of working on heritage buildings,” said Bratch, a self-described “serial entrepreneur from the marketing and technology world” who has now formally founded a Hamilton-based development firm called Metro Partners.

Property Biz Canada

Foreign investors continue seek Canadian CRE: Morguard

Despite Canada’s tepid economic growth forecast, foreign investment continues to stimulate the real estate market as investors look for stability. Morguard Corporation‘s (MRC-T) second quarter 2016 Economic Outlook and Market Fundamentals Report points to Canada as an attractive market for foreign capital investment.

Canada Newswire

The mysterious tycoon at the centre B.C. property deals

A Chinese property tycoon linked to a massive banking scandal in China’s industrial north is at the centre of more than $500 million in B.C. property deals, a joint investigation by Postmedia and global due diligence firm IPSA International shows. Chinese real estate magnate Kevin Sun founded Sun Commercial Real Estate in 2013.

National Post

Parkbridge Lifestyle Communities launches newly-redeveloped resort

Parkbridge Lifestyle Communities hosted the official launch of Camping Caravelle to celebrate the resort’s significant redevelopment and over $1-million investment since it was purchased by Parkbridge in January 2014. Camping Caravelle is a secure, picturesque and family-friendly resort, located within close proximity to Montreal and the Eastern Townships, and offers over 400 full-service seasonal to overnight sites to choose from.

Marketwired

True North Commercial REIT completes acquisition in the GTA

True North Commercial REIT (TNT.UN-T) has closed the acquisition of an office property located at 6865 Century Avenue, Mississauga, Ontario. The Century Property is a two-story office building situated on 2.66 acres with a total of approximately 64,000 rentable square feet and 226 surface parking stalls with direct highway exposure.

Edmonton Journal

U.K. probe reveals details of retail giant’s demise

When iconic British retailer BHS collapsed into bankruptcy protection in April, it marked a sad ending to an 88-year-old department store chain. It also threw 11,000 people out of work and left a £571-million ($986-million) hole in the retailer’s pension plan. Now, a parliamentary probe into the company collapse has revealed  former owner, retailing legend Sir Philip Green, siphoned off money for years to fund his lavish lifestyle.

Globe and Mail

Kimco’s 2020 Vision

To Kimco Realty Corp. (KIM-N) President and CEO Conor Flynn, today’s open-air shopping centers play an increasingly central role in the life of the surrounding community, acting in effect as an alternative main street. He developed that perspective during a 13-year tenure at the company during which he held various management positions, including COO and chief investment officer.

REIT.com

QIA makes good on U.S. investment promise

In January 2015, visiting officials of the State of Qatar told the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that the country would invest $35 billion in the U.S. over the next five years, and it continues to do just that, with its latest investment being Qatari Investment Authority’s acquisition of the office tower at 12100 Wilshire Blvd. in Los Angeles., one of several acquisitions made since then.

CP Executive

Strategic Storage Growth Trust reaches $50-million equity mark

Strategic Storage Growth Trust, Inc. (SSGT), which is sponsored by SmartStop Asset Management, LLC, has raised more than $50 million in capital from investors across the United States and is now accepting investments from Pennsylvania residents. Pennsylvania has a formulaic escrow requirement based on the maximum offering amount and for this reason, SSGT has not permitted investments by Pennsylvania residents in its offering until now.

Marketwired

The US presidential election will affect everything except this

The divisions between the two candidates’ positions could not be more stark on every issue of note including real estate investment. There is one market, though, that can safely shrug off the hand-wringing surrounding this election: the Washington DC area’s office leasing market.  After Nov. 9th leasing activity in the region will remain the same whether Hillary Clinton wins the White House or Trump.

Globe St.

Featured Column

Floor rates

If you’ve recently discussed a commercial mortgage with a lender, you have likely encountered floor rates. As bond rates have sunk lower, they are becoming a regular and necessary part of lending in Canada.

Read more

Market Trends and Research

Poll shows Toronto divided on Scarborough subway plan

Half of Toronto voters approve of council’s decision to proceed with the Scarborough subway extension, but only a minority say it will affect how they cast their ballot in the next municipal election.  A new poll by Forum Research found that 49 per cent of respondents support building the subway link to the Scarborough Town Centre instead of a light rail line.

Toronto Star

E-commerce drives demand for US industrial space

Prologis, the world’s largest developer and owner of industrial real estate, reported the first six months of 2016 were the strongest in its company’s history as moderate levels of new supply paired with a strong appetite by e-commerce and other companies created the tightest market for tenants since the first internet boom of the early 2000s.

CoStar Group

Real Estate Investment Trusts

Industrial REITs still gaining from e-commerce in U.S.

In the latest episode of The REIT Report: NAREIT’s Weekly Podcast, David Auerbach, an institutional REIT trader with Esposito Securities, talked about the latest developments in single-family REITs, the impact of online retail on industrial REITs and how elevating real estate to a headline sector under the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) will increase the visibility of REITs.

REIT.com

Retail

Discount retailers get boost as consumers react to sluggish economy

Canada’s slow-growth economy, which is still struggling following the slump in oil markets, has given a boost to brands in the discount retail space.  Consulting firm Brand Finance PLC is releasing its annual ranking of Canada’s most valuable brands on Monday, and found that low-cost retailers’ brands were relatively strong compared to the overall Canadian market.

Globe and Mail

Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. fuel for your portfolio

There are fewer companies on the market that have truly impressed me as much as Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (ATD.B-T) has over the past few years. It operates a network of over 14,000 convenience store and gas stations across Canada, the U.S., and Europe. So what makes this company so special? Let’s take a quick look.

The Motley Fool

New Development

Vancouver’s Trump hotel tries again on pool bar, nightclub approval

A revised proposal for a pool bar and nightclub at the Trump hotel and tower is set to return to Vancouver city council next week.  The hotel’s first application was turned down at one of the more entertaining council meetings in recent memory. Residents who live near the hotel were worried about late night noise.

The Province

Other

St. Isidore Catholic church built in 1879 goes up in flames

Firefighters fought a losing battle Saturday afternoon when the historic Catholic church in the village of St. Isidore, east of Ottawa, was destroyed by fire.

Ottawa Citizen

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