Slate Office REIT has sold a two-tower office property at 95-105 Moatfield Dr. in Toronto for $97 million to an undisclosed purchaser.
The two towers combined have 405,407 square feet of office space with three levels of underground parking. The property is located close to the York Mills exit on the Don Valley Parkway and the busy east- west highway 401 corridor.
The building at 95 Moatfield is fully leased to Kraft Canada Inc. and 88 per cent of 105 Moatfield is leased to Thales Rail Signaling Solutions.
The sale price works out to approximately $239 per square foot, at a 6.4 per cent in-place capitalization rate according to a release on the sale.
The sale represents a five per cent increase to the REIT’s June 30, 2022 IFRS value.
Funds from the sale will go toward immediately reducing the REIT’s (SOT-UN-T) indebtedness and and will enable it to use capital for accretive opportunities.
“The strategic disposition of the property at 95-105 Moatfield Drive is a testament to our team’s ability to unlock value for the REIT’s unitholders in all market conditions,” CEO Steve Hodgson said in a statement on the sale.
“The sale price at a significant premium to purchase price further validates the REIT’s net asset value and the upside potential of the REIT’s stock and unlocks equity capital for the REIT to redeploy into more modern, high-quality assets with stable cash flow.”
The REIT originally acquired the properties as part of a portfolio of seven from Cominar REIT in March 2018 for $191.4 million.
The REIT’s 2022 transactions
In February, the REIT acquired Yew Grove REIT plc in Ireland for $254.8 million — which included its portfolio of 23 properties concentrated in technology, life sciences and other essential industries.
Yew Grove is dual-listed on Euronext Dublin and the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.
In January, it was first announced that Yew Grove CFO Charles Peach would become the new CFO of Slate Office REIT, replacing Michael Sheehan. Peach first joined Yew Grove as a director in April 2018.
Slate Office REIT owns and operates a portfolio of workplace real estate assets in North America and Europe with offices in Toronto, Chicago and Dublin.
While it owns 54 assets globally, a majority of its portfolio is comprised of government or high-quality credit tenants.