LaSalle Investment Management is pleased to announce that LaSalle Canada Property Fund, the firm’s flagship open-ended core real estate fund in Canada, has secured up to C$350 million of new capital commitments to add to its initial seed investment and launch in December, 2017. The new investments were made by a multilateral government pension fund, a European-based global financial institution that accessed the Fund through a parallel structure established in Luxembourg to allow access to certain European investors, as well as by LaSalle Investment Management and its employees. The new commitments combined with the contribution associated with the seed portfolio reflect a total gross asset value to exceed C$1 billion since the Fund’s launch1. LCPF complements other LaSalle core open-end funds in the US and Europe, which collectively manage more than US$9 billion of AUM.
Following acceptance of the new capital commitments, the Fund closed on acquisitions of two core assets located in Ottawa and Calgary, described below.
John McKinlay, LaSalle Canada CEO, said: “We are pleased with the strong institutional interest and capital raising momentum experienced by the Fund, as we have leveraged LaSalle’s global platform and client relationships to drive growth over a short period of time. Equally as important is the efficiency with which we are able to put that capital to work, highlighted by the dual property acquisition that occurred in conjunction with the new equity commitments. Since launching the Fund eight months ago, there has been significant global investor interest, which we think demonstrates the sustained demand for core real estate assets in Canada as a stabilized investment opportunity in North America.”
On August 2, 2018, LCPF acquired a 33% interest in Minto Place, a landmark office property in Ottawa comprised of three class-A office towers, a retail podium and a four-level parking garage that occupies an entire city block in the central business district of Canada’s capital city.
The property is 97% leased and has been institutionally managed since construction, providing a total of 945,000 square feet of rentable area, of which is 64% leased to government tenants. The complex’s scale, location and competitive position in its peer group has driven strong performance relative to its peer set. Its strong mix of governmental and private sector clients should offer some insulation from market volatility. The building is conveniently located adjacent to Parliament Hill, numerous downtown amenities, LRT stations and major highway arterial roads.
On July 31, 2018, LCPF acquired Market at Quarry Park on a wholly-owned, all-equity basis. Market at Quarry Park is a well-located and modern grocery-anchored shopping center in the Quarry Park neighborhood in Calgary. Developed in 2009 as part of a 400 acre master-planned community, the shopping center is anchored by a Calgary CO-OP with lease term to 2030. The property is 99% leased to a healthy mix of national, regional, and local tenants. When fully built-out, Quarry Park is anticipated to house upwards of 10,000 residents and 18,000 employees. The Market at Quarry Park is the sole major retail hub at the center of the entire node, and experiences strong traffic given the necessity and service-based tenant profile.
Stephen Robertson, Head of Acquisitions in Canada for LaSalle, said: “The acquisitions of Minto Place and Market at Quarry Park make excellent additions to the LCPF portfolio and provide further diversification to the Fund’s existing national portfolio of major market investments. LaSalle is very positive about the near-term growth prospects in the City of Ottawa, as the market continues to be driven by technology tenants and government stability. With regards to the Market at Quarry Park, we believe the Quarry Park area in Calgary will continue to densify, and the current softness in the Alberta Market provides a good entry point. Our team is well-positioned to continue to source and execute transactions that align with the Fund’s objectives.”
On an aggregate basis, LaSalle has executed approximately C$6 billion in Canadian real estate since 2000, providing it with an in-depth understanding of the market. The formation of LCPF expanded LaSalle’s existing Canadian real estate product suite and investment vehicles, which include a series of closed-end commingled funds as well as separate accounts.
[1] In December, 2017, LCPF was seeded with a core portfolio of assets valued at C$440 million from a long-term, sophisticated institutional investor. The investor potentially has up to C$310 million of assets available for subsequent transfers into the Fund. This release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy an interest in LCPF. A private offering of interests in the relevant Fund vehicle is being made only to certain qualified investors pursuant to the applicable confidential private placement memorandum. Within the European Economic Area (EEA), the Fund is only available to professional investors in EEA member states where marketing has been registered or authorized in accordance with local requirements. A full list of the relevant EEA member states is available from LaSalle on request.
About LaSalle Investment Management
LaSalle Investment Management is one of the world’s leading real estate investment managers with approximately US$60 billion of private and public equity and private debt investments under management (as of Q2 2018). LaSalle’s diverse client base includes public and private pension funds, insurance companies, governments, corporations, endowments and private individuals from across the globe. LaSalle sponsors a complete range of investment vehicles including separate accounts, open- and closed-end funds, public securities and entity-level investments. LaSalle is a wholly-owned, operationally independent subsidiary of Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. (NYSE: JLL), one of the world’s largest real estate companies. For more information please visit www.lasalle.com.
