How 5 Top Canadian REITs Performed Last Quarter

March 8, 2016 | 7:00 am ET Ryan Starr

Canada's real estate investment trusts had action-packed ends to 2015. Here's a snapshot of how five leading firms fared in the fourth quarter.

1. Choice Properties REIT

Highlight: Adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) of $82M, up 10% from the same period last year.

Portfolio: Choice is the manager/developer of 41.6M SF of GLA in 519 properties, primarily supermarket- and drugstore-anchored shopping centres and stand-alone supermarkets and drugstores.

Big deals: Acquired four retail properties in Ontario from Loblaw Cos (its principal tenant and largest unitholder) for $45.6M; portfolio includes 30k SF of development potential in Ottawa.

2. Allied Properties REIT

Highlight: AFFO of $35.3M, up 3.1% from the same period in 2014.

Portfolio: Assets of $4.5B as of year-end 2015, and a national urban-office platform of 10.4M GLA in 10 cities across Canada.

Big deals: Completed four developments by year's end, including Toronto’s QRC West (above) and closed on $130M of strategic acquisitions in Downtown West, along with a $28M infill acquisition at King and Spadina.

3. RioCan REIT

Highlight: Operating funds from operations of $142.2M, up 9.8% from Q4 2014.

Portfolio: Canada’s largest REIT (total enterprise value of $15B) owns/manages nation's largest portfolio of shopping centres, with ownership interests in 305 retail properties, 15 under development.

Big deals: Reached an agreement with Blackstone Group to sell its US portfolio of 49 retail properties, including Lincoln Square in Arlington, TX (above), for $2.7B. Acquired Kimco Realty's interest in 23 previously jointly owned properties.

4. Summit Industrial Income REIT

Highlight: AFFO of $3.9M, up from $3M in the same period last year.

Portfolio: Open-ended mutual fund trust has a stable of 45 industrial properties across Canada.

Big deals: Acquired a 50% stake in a three-property portfolio in the Greater Montreal Region for $12M. Includes a 58k SF light industrial building (above), leased to cosmetics company Tecnocosmesi.

5. Agellan Commercial REIT

Highlight: AFFO of $5.9M, up 21.6% versus Q4 2014.

Portfolio: 4.7M SF of GLA in 32 properties, including Toronto's Parkway Place (above), primarily in major urban markets in the US and Canada.

Big deals: In December, the REIT successfully rezoned land at Parkway Place for the development of a Porsche car dealership. The trust also entered into a 43k SF, 10-year lease at the complex.