Choice Properties Real Estate Investment Trust, commonly referred to as Choice Properties, is a Canadian unincorporated, open-ended

real estate investment trust A real estate investment trust (REIT, pronounced "reet") is a company that owns, and in most cases operates, income-producing real estate. REITs own many types of real estate, including office and apartment buildings, studios, warehouses, hos ...

(REIT) based in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Ontario. It is the largest real estate investment trust in Canada, with an enterprise value of $16 billion. It mainly owns Canadian retail properties anchored by its major tenant and majority unit holder,

Loblaw Companies Loblaw Companies Limited is a Canadian retailer encompassing corporate and franchise supermarkets operating under 22 regional and market-segment banners (including Loblaws), as well as pharmacies, banking and apparel. Loblaw operates a private ...

, Canada's largest food retailer, which is controlled by the

Weston family The Weston family is a prominent family of businesspeople that was founded in Canada and eventually developed global business interests, primarily in the food and retail sectors. The family operations began with the purchase of a bakery in 1884 b ...

. It is listed on the

Toronto Stock Exchange The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX; ) is a stock exchange located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the List of stock exchanges, 10th largest exchange in the world and the third largest in North America based on market capitalization. Based in th ...

History

In December 2012, Loblaw announced that it would spin-off most of its real estate properties into a new publicly listed real estate investment trust. The move would allow Loblaw to monetize the value of its real estate holdings, invest in its grocery business, and take advantage of the tax advantages of the REIT structure. On July 5, 2013, the new REIT, called Choice Properties, held an

IPO An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Loblaw initially transferred 426 properties, worth $7 billion, to the new company. The mainly retail properties represented 75% of Loblaw's real estate assets. The IPO raised $400 million, and was the largest on the Toronto Stock Exchange that year. Loblaw retained 83.1% ownership in the new company after the IPO, and its parent company

George Weston Limited George Weston Limited, often referred to as Weston or Weston's, is a Canadian holding company. Founded by George Weston in 1882, the company today consists of the Choice Properties real estate investment trust and Loblaw Companies Limited, C ...

had a 5.6% interest. In February 2018, Choice announced that it would acquire Canadian Real Estate Investment Trust (CREIT), a diversified commercial REIT, for $3.9-billion. With the CREIT acquisition, Choice owned 752 properties worth $16 billion, and became Canada's largest REIT. The deal was made in part to allow Choice to diversify its portfolio into industrial and other non-retail property. After the transaction went through in May 2018, Choice's assets were 78% retail, 14% industrial, and 8% offices. Loblaw owned 62% of the new company, while former CREIT unitholders owned 27%.

Properties

Choice primarily owns Canadian retail properties anchored by its Loblaw Company stores. It also owns other commercial properties. As of the end of December 2017, the company owned 546 properties, with a gross leasable area of 44.1 million square feet, and a total value of $9.6 billion. The company is currently engaged in mixed-use re-developments in several sites that it owns, including at Bloor and Dundas West in Toronto, and the Golden Mile in Scarborough.

References

{{Reflist Companies based in Toronto Companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange Real estate investment trusts of Canada Loblaw Companies Real estate companies of Canada Canadian companies established in 2013 2013 establishments in Ontario Real estate companies established in 2013