First Capital Realty

src: www.gazitglobe.com

First Capital Realty is a Canadian public real estate company, specializing in retail real estate, and based in Toronto, Ontario. It is one of the largest retail landlords in Canada.

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History

First Capital Realty was founded in 1994 as Centrefund Realty through a 1994 IPO. It started with 5 properties, and grew to 70 properties by 2000. In May 2000, Riocan Real Estate Investment Trust briefly entered into discussions into buying First Capital. Gazit Group ended up acquiring the company, which was restructured and renamed First Capital Realty in 2001. Gazit Group (now Gazit-Globe) remains a significant shareholder in First Capital (32% as of March 2017), although both they and First Capital have issued a number of shares to public markets in the intervening time. As of 2003, First Capital had 81 properties, after spinning off its American properties and acquiring 18 properties during the year. In 2011, First Capital Realty bought Hazelton Lanes, a shopping centre in Yorkville, Toronto, for $110 million.

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Business

First Capital primarily owns medium-size shopping centres in large urban areas in Canada. As of the end of 2016, First Capital had 160 retail properties, with 25.3 million square feet of space, worth $8.7 billion. Major tenant groups include grocery stores (17.3% of 2016 rent), restaurants (13.9%), pharmacies (9.2%), and banks (8.6%). The top 10 tenants in 2016 were Loblaws, Sobeys, Metro, Walmart, Canadian Tire, TD Canada Trust, RBC, Goodlife Fitness, Dollarama, and CIBC, accounting for 35% of total rent. Major markets served include Toronto (33% of 2016 rent), Montreal (15%), Calgary (12%), Vancouver (11%), Edmonton (10%), and Ottawa (6%).

First Capital has recently been shifting to mixed-use developments, as opposed to purely retail developments.

In September 2017, it was announced that First Capital was considering selling $500 million worth of properties in Ottawa and Toronto in which it has a partial interest.

Unlike many public real estate companies, First Capital Realty is not structured as a real estate investment trust.