In a transformational move in 2024, National Bank expanded its real estate offering and launched both real estate brokerage and mortgage brokerage firms.

Underscoring its innovative and entrepreneurial approach, National Bank aims to redefine the industry standard as a one-stop shop for institutional real estate clients. National Bank is committed to delivering comprehensive solutions to clients and building upon its tremendous momentum from 2024 leading into 2025.

Highly accomplished and driven team

Veteran and well-known Montreal real estate broker Nektar Diamantopoulos joined the National Bank team bringing along a track record of over 25 years in commercial real estate. Throughout his career, Nektar has supported his clients through several marquee transactions involving strategic acquisitions, dispositions, and capital advisory work. 

“In adding real estate and mortgage brokerage capabilities to its real estate platform, National Bank is offering unique value-add services to the Quebec real estate market through NBF Real Estate Services Inc. and NBF Mortgage Brokerage Services Inc.,” says Nektar Diamantopoulos. “We are focused on providing a full-service experience at an elevated level.” 

“The launch of our real estate and mortgage brokerage offering has been a fantastic addition to the services provided to our core clients. We’re excited to offer access to a more complete product and service platform. Our ethos is to be client-centric, focusing on the long-term relationship and always providing the best advice for the client in any given situation.” said Andrew Wallace, Managing Director & Head of Real Estate, Investment Banking, who oversees the real estate brokerage offering. 

As proof of its early momentum, National Bank’s Real Estate group has recently advised on several landmark transactions, positioning itself as a significant player in the Quebec market.

Office financing - $100 million mortgage transaction for Allied Properties REIT

In 2024, NBF Mortgage Brokerage Services Inc. advised Allied Properties REIT on its mortgage financing process of a trophy office property located at 425 Viger Street West in Montreal. By leading a fulsome and international process, NBF Mortgage Brokerage Services Inc. was able to assist Allied in receiving a highly competitive commitment.

Large scale refinancing for portfolio of senior housing for Revera Inc. 

In 2024, NBF Mortgage Brokerage Services Inc. advised senior living real estate asset manager, Revera Inc. on a major refinancing effort on a portion of its senior’s housing portfolio in Quebec. 

Property sales for senior housing portfolio for Revera Inc.

NBF Real Estate Services Inc. has also recently advised senior living real estate asset manager, Revera Inc., on the sale of several senior housing assets in Quebec.  

Looking forward to 2025

Through its real estate platform, National Bank has a strong pipeline of property and debt brokerage mandates. Such brokerage services have also included advising clients in finding new or additional funding sources through equity or partnership ventures to assist with new developments or portfolio recapitalizations. Despite recent market volatility, National Bank believes the recent success sets a foundation to build upon. Leveraging its long-standing relationships with Canada’s public and private REITs, as well as the largest pensions and asset managers globally, National Bank sees a substantial pipeline of opportunity across the real estate space in 2025 and beyond. 

National Bank’s momentum is supported by a team of seasoned professionals with significant sector expertise ensuring its clients benefit from both market intelligence and execution precision. “We are in growth mode,” said Andrew Wallace. “Our goal is to be the go-to partner for our clients seeking transformative results in the most impactful situations across the real estate landscape.”

The advantage of an integrated approach

National Bank of Canada is one of Canada's six biggest banks with $462 billion in assets as at October 31, 2024 and has approximately 30,000 employees in knowledge-intensive positions and operates through three business segments in Canada: Personal and Commercial Banking, Wealth Management and Financial Markets. National Bank is Canadian market-focused, with international reach. This past year it further demonstrated its commitment to expanding within Canada with its acquisition of Canadian Western Bank.

NBF offers a complete suite of products and services to corporations, institutional clients, and public-sector entities, delivering comprehensive advisory services and research and capital markets solutions. The team consists of over 170 professionals located in offices in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, and New York.

Over the years, NBF has established itself as a partner of choice for real estate entities advising on complex transactions. Through its leading M&A advisory practice, NBF has helped entities execute some of Canada’s most complex cross-border and domestic transactions across all size ranges. NBF was a Financial Advisor to Cominar REIT on its $5.7 billion sale to a Canderel-led consortium as a result of a fulsome strategic review process. NBF has also advised several management teams and boards on other landmark transactions including Financial Advisor to the Special Committee of Dream Global on its acquisition by Blackstone for $6.2 billion. NBF also has material capital commitments across all of Canada’s main real estate companies including providing construction financing solutions across a wide spectrum of projects.

With the establishment of the real estate brokerage offering through NBF Real Estate Services Inc. and NBF Mortgage Brokerage Services Inc., National Bank has established a one-stop shop for corporate real estate entities complementing its capital markets expertise of NBF. The full suite of real estate advisory services includes:

• Corporate lending
• Debt capital markets
• Equity capital markets
• Mergers & acquisitions
• Mortgage and debt brokerage
• Property sales
• Public equity sales & trading
• Real Estate property & construction lending
• Research
• Risk management solutions