Grocery
Is a Sale-leaseback Right for Your Business?
Economic uncertainty and restricted debt markets are leading more corporate occupiers to explore alternative financing options such as sale-leasebacks to secure funds. In a sale-leaseback, a company sells its real estate to an investor for cash and simultaneously enters into a long-term lease thereby unlocking otherwise illiquid capital to redeploy into higher growth segments of its core business. A sale-leaseback is an innovative tool that can be especially advantageous in today’s market where debt financing may be less attractive but is your company and your real estate the right fit? Read on to determine if (and when) a sale-leaseback is right for your business. The Criteria for a Sale-leaseback Own your real estate The key criterion for a sale-leaseback is real estate ownership. One of the primary drivers for a company to undertake a sale-leaseback is to unlock 100% of the real estate’s value while maintaining long-term operational control of the asset. By selling your property and leasing it back, you remove a non-incoming producing, fixed asset (real estate) and unlock liquid capital to reinvest into your business. Own the right type of real estate While the mainstream commercial property sectors of industrial, retail and office are most common in a sale-leaseback transaction, other specialty assets like life sciences and data centers have expanded the pool of investable assets. Make sure it's critical to your operations Investors look for specific value-add characteristics before buying a property. For instance, it’s best if your asset is mission-critical—in other words, an essential revenue driver for your business. Potential investors will also likely consider the property’s condition and age (high-quality, modern assets with sustainable features will be more valuable), location (think proximity to transportation routes) and size. Desired size will depend on the investor and often vary by property type. Retail properties for example tend to be smaller (perhaps around 20,000 square feet), compared to an industrial asset that might be upwards of 250,000 square feet. Additional space to expand the facility is also a plus for investors. However, the criticality of the asset to your operations is often more important than the asset type or size itself. Have a strong underlying credit story (sub-IG credits welcome!) You’ll attract real estate investors if you have a strong underlying credit and revenue history. Due to the long length of leases typically associated with sale-leasebacks, the investor will want to be confident that you can consistently pay rent throughout the lease term. However, this doesn’t mean your company must be investment grade. Many investors can work with sellers that are sub-investment grade so long as the underlying fundamentals of the business are solid. Institutional investors with strong underwriting capabilities will be able to evaluate all credits and assess your financial statements in order to get comfortable with pursuing a sale-leaseback deal. Be willing to sign a long-term lease, but ask the right questions upfront The last criterion for a sale-leaseback is that you must be willing to sign a long-term lease with the investor, typically 10-30 years. Before signing a long-term lease, it’s important to consider some critical factors, including: Space requirements: Evaluate your current and future space requirements to ensure the leased property will accommodate your needs for the duration of the lease. If additional space is needed, it’s possible your sale-leaseback partner will work with you on an expansion or build-to-suit of a brand-new asset. Renewal options: Does the lease come with renewal options? Find out the renewal terms for which the lessor is willing to extend the lease period so that you can continue occupying the property once the initial period for the lease expires. Maintenance and repairs: Know who's responsible for any maintenance and repair needs of the leased commercial property. In a triple-net lease, for instance, the tenant is responsible for all insurance, taxes and maintenance expenses, which also means the tenant maintains full operational control. By considering all the above factors, you can make an informed decision and confidently enter into a long-term lease. When to Consider a Sale-leaseback? While sale-leaseback financing is an excellent alternative to loans and other debt financing, it's not ideal for every company in every circumstance. Here are a few examples of when it makes sense to consider a sale-leaseback for your business. When you need capital for growth Sale-leasebacks are an excellent tool to unlock cash for growth initiatives, particularly for companies with limited access to traditional forms of financing. Proceeds from sale-leasebacks can be channeled to investments in new equipment, technology, personnel or additional facilities. And the best part is that a sale-leaseback enables you to raise capital without losing control of your property. To support M&A If you're considering an M&A transaction, you may need to raise additional capital to fund the purchase of the target company—or to pay down debt following an acquisition—which may be the case for companies and private equity firms alike. Usually, the cost of capital for commercial real estate investors is quite competitive as a real estate investor will acquire your property at market rate, creating an immediate arbitrage between the real estate multiple and the acquired business EBITDA multiple. To strengthen your balance sheet A sale-leaseback can help strengthen your business’ balance sheet by shoring up much-needed cash. You can use the raised capital to pay off existing debt, boost your debt-to-equity ratio or invest in other revenue-driving areas of your business. Remember the composition of your business’ balance sheet determines how lenders, investors and shareholders view your company's risk profile. If you have less debt, your business will be more attractive to these parties. Final thoughts A sale-leaseback transaction is an excellent alternative for companies, especially during periods when traditional sources of financing are limited. When choosing a sale-leaseback partner, consider an experienced, long-term investor who can buy on an all-equity basis and who is willing to work with you throughout your lease (and beyond). W. P. Carey has been a leader in sale-leasebacks since 1973 and is well-positioned to continue helping companies unlock capital even in today’s challenging economic environment. Maximize your real estate and unlock immediate capital by contacting our team today!
From Property to Partnership
At W. P. Carey, underwriting is the cornerstone of our investment strategy. Whether we’re evaluating a mission-critical distribution center, a top-producing grocery store, a well-located data center or a newly developed healthcare facility, our process is grounded in four essential pillars: The creditworthiness of the tenant The criticality of the asset The quality of the real estate The structure and pricing of the transaction Together, these criteria help us identify assets that deliver durable, long-term value to our shareholders. Creditworthiness of the tenant We begin with a deep dive into the tenant’s financial health. Our team evaluates balance sheets, income statements, liquidity levels, leverage ratios and access to capital. We also look beyond the numbers – analyzing the company’s industry position, growth trajectory and ability to withstand economic cycles. As long-term owners, our ideal tenant is one that will remain operational – and ideally continue to grow – for many years to come. Criticality of the asset Not all real estate is created equal. We focus on acquiring assets that are essential to a tenant’s operations – whether that’s a key distribution center, a top-performing retail location or a specialized manufacturing facility. Our goal is to understand how integral the property is to the tenant’s revenue generation, product development and supply chain. Assets that are truly critical are the ones that tenants are most likely to remain in – and invest in – over time. Quality of the real estate In addition to tenant credit and building criticality, we assess the real estate itself. This includes local market analysis, property condition assessments, third-party valuations, replacement cost estimates as well as understanding downside scenarios and re-leasing risk. Our goal is to ensure that the real estate stands on its own as a high-quality, income-generating asset. Transaction structure and pricing We structure each transaction to support both tenant operations and investor expectations. That often means negotiating long-term leases (typically 10-30 years) with built-in rent escalations and appropriate protections if needed – such as security deposits or letters of credit. Our pricing reflects both the fundamentals of the asset and the strength of the tenant, always with the goal of striking the right risk-return balance. A proven approach Throughout our more than 50-year history, this disciplined underwriting approach has enabled us to navigate complexity and build a portfolio of 1,600+ high-quality, operationally critical assets. Regardless of property type, these four pillars remain constant – highlighting that execution rooted in underwriting discipline is what ultimately drives long-term value. Interested in selling your real estate? Contact us today!
Retail's Latest Transformation Has Investors Watching
Retail has been the commercial real estate chameleon, changing and adapting with the times, including the rise of e-commerce and COVID-19. The post-pandemic rebirth of the sector has made major headlines and many retail operators and owners see flying colors. Michael Fitzgerald, executive director and head of US retail investments at W. P. Carey, sees three major trends that sector stakeholders should be watching: the strength of needs-based retail, a development switch favoring sale-leaseback investors and the continued recalibration of buyer-seller expectations. Targets & Tactics “An interesting thing about COVID was how resilient certain areas of retail actually were,” said Fitzgerald. “We saw immediate and sustained growth after that short period of shutdowns.” Non-discretionary, core-good retail including grocery stores and services-based tenants, such as auto services, have been “very strong,” according to Fitzgerald. Low-cost discount stores are a good place to do deals given the economic worries. And family entertainment centers, such as arcades and bowling alleys with full-service restaurants, have seen sustained periods of same-store sales growth and high profitability, benefitting from the post-COVID pent-up consumer demand. “When you’re very flexible, have tons of ability to evaluate business models, take a partnership approach and meet with management teams to understand how they position themselves in the market, you’ll have a lot of good investment options,” said Fitzgerald, who prefers master leases of 15- to 25-year term with escalations every five years. “We can do anything from convenience stores to an automotive service business to grocery and sporting goods. We’re pretty agnostic as to the types of retail we pursue.” Rate Responses As the impact of rising interest rates continues to unfold, Fitzgerald has found that most tenants and retailers are somewhat hesitant to raise their prices so as not to alienate or even “destroy” their customer base. There’s an opportunity to boost profitability, but also a concern about the outcome if companies go down that path and then the economic “switch flips” and customers stop spending. Increased interest rates affect retail development negatively, but Fitzgerald believes a specific shift in that regard that could yield investment opportunity. Retailers planning to grow their footprint have traditionally partnered with merchant developers, but with higher capital costs the latter’s return requirements “have increased significantly” and, in turn, their hiked asking rents have forced retailers to look for alternatives. As a result, retailers are doing more of their own development, whether in-house or through fee developers. “So a lot of these developments will be held on the balance sheet of retail companies, which is good because a lot of companies will likely decide to do sale-leasebacks,” he said. “Given that’s our company’s prime target, we think that’s a good trend to come from the higher rates.” Outlook Fitzgerald maintains that it’s still too early to make a prediction for overall transaction volume in the retail sector in 2023, adding that since last fall cap rate expectations have gone up 45 to 50 basis points in many cases. “What we’re seeing is that retailers that need to grow their footprint and monetize new developments are going to meet the market and are going to do deals,” he said. “If retailers continue to meet the market I think it’ll be a good, active year. If there’s a standoff I think it’s going to be more difficult.”