Firm Capital Property Trust has acquired a 70% interest in seven Waterloo industrial buildings for just over $30M, expanding its portfolio to 60 properties, worth $124M. President and CEO Robert McKee (pictured right with CFO Sandy Poklar) tells us the transaction, an off-market deal, includes 500k SF of small-bay and large bay multi-tenanted industrial properties. “It’s a good mix of product, and we really like the Waterloo industrial market,” says Robert. “We think it’s one of the better ones in the country.”

Waterloo has recovered from the “BlackBerry implosion” and Robert notes leasing there remains strong. “There’s very little vacancy.” The portfolio Firm Capital just acquired—550, 554 (above) and 560 Parkside Dr plus 50 Northland Rd—is nearly 100% leased, a credit to the previous owner, who Robert says purchased the buildings for an attractive price but with significant vacancies. “They were able to lease this up over a fairly short period, which shows us the strength in that market." The portfolio has been well-maintained, "and we think there’ll be room to move rents slightly higher over the longer term.”

Firm Capital is a diversified REIT with a portfolio of multifamily, flex-industrial, convenience retail, and service-provider office spaces, largely concentrated in Ontario and Quebec, with a handful of holdings in Western and Atlantic Canada, like Shoppes of Osprey Village in Bridgewater, NS (above). The trust acquired a 70% stake in a portfolio of 25 retail properties across Canada (230k SF) for $32.4M. “We’re focused on assets that are attractive to us, and that we’d also want to co-invest in,” Robert explains. “One thing we do differently, our board and management directly invests in almost every acquisition we make.”