Epic Investment Services and Woodbourne Capital Management have acquired a four-building, small-bay industrial portfolio in Greater Montreal. (Courtesy Epic)

As industrial properties in the Greater Montreal Area continue to trade at a rapid pace, Epic Investment Services and Woodbourne Capital Management have acquired a four-property portfolio in the Anjou and Saint-Léonard districts.

The four properties on the Island of Montreal total about 201,000 square feet of leasable area and are located within a 1.5-kilometre radius of each other. The vendor was a local real estate investment firm. 

“We are excited to expand our portfolio in Canada’s highest industrial rental growth market,” said Aaron Moore, Epic’s senior vice-president, investments, in the announcement. “This is the third programmatic acquisition we have executed for our small-bay strategy in the last 12 months.”

Financial details were not disclosed.

Epic, which has operated in the province as Epic Quebec since 2007, will be the asset and property manager for the properties. They will be added to its existing portfolio of office, industrial and multiresidential assets in the province.

Portfolio 96.5 per cent leased

The portfolio is 96.5 per cent leased. It comprises buildings constructed during the 1970s and 1980s, with clear heights of 18 to 22 feet. 

Epic plans to add value to the assets via capital repairs and replacements and what the firm calls a “robust leasing plan” in an exchange of emails with RENX.

“Epic has strong conviction on small-bay industrial assets with diversified tenant uses for a number of reasons. Namely, we’ve identified there is a more pronounced discount to replacement cost, a relative rent – price – inelasticity, and generally shorter WALT profiles,” a spokesperson wrote in reply to questions from RENX.

The firm plans to continue its investments in the sector.

“Epic is actively assessing opportunities across Canada and the U.S.A. with plans to acquire more assets that match our industrial thesis,” the spokesperson wrote.

“While we are proceeding with caution given the current macroeconomic backdrop, we like sectors with healthy forward-looking rental growth prospects. This is one of the critical drivers of our industrial program. 

“We also see growth in residential and are looking to become more active in the retail sector.”

Busy time in Montreal industrial sector

It is the latest in a string of significant Montreal industrial acquisition and development announcements during the past couple of weeks. Among them are:

– BentallGreenOak announced the acquisition of the $170-million Camco portfolio, which consists of six buildings and 767,564 square feet of space. It expects to close on a seventh building in the portfolio later this year.

– Skyline Industrial REIT also closed on the buyout of its development partners for a 259,198-square-foot, two-building new development at 8300 Place Marien and 11235 Metropolitain Blvd.

– Developer Harden and Walmart announced construction is underway for a 457,000-square-foot fulfillment centre for the retail giant at the Le Campus Henry Ford business park along the Hwy. 30 corridor. The centre represents a $100-million-plus investment.

About Epic, Woodbourne

Epic Investment Services, and subsidiary MDC Realty Advisors in the United States, is a fully integrated North American real estate platform. 

Headquartered in Toronto and operating from offices in Canada and the U.S., Epic has over $16.5 billion in assets under management.

Epic’s portfolio comprises 30 million square feet of office, retail, industrial and multiresidential properties.

Woodbourne is an investor, operator and developer of apartments, seniors’ housing, student housing, self-storage and other niche real estate assets located predominantly in urban areas across Canada. 

Woodbourne invests on behalf of a broad base of institutional investors across the globe, including public and private pension funds, endowments and foundations.