December 7, 2005
The CPP Investment Board today announced the purchase of two major shopping centres in Quebec, the Galeries de la Capitale in Quebec City and Carrefour de L’Estrie in Sherbrooke.
The CPP Investment Board assumes an 80 per cent interest in the shopping centres while Osmington Inc. and Westerkirk Capital together assume a total of 20 per cent. The properties will be managed by Redcliff Realty Management Inc., the wholly owned subsidiary of Osmington. ”It is a rare opportunity when shopping centres of this quality become available for purchase,” said Graeme Eadie, Vice-President – Real Estate Investments, CPP Investment Board. “Shopping centres of this type have historically been strong performers relative to other property types and this acquisition will help us better balance our real estate portfolio across sectors,” added Mr. Eadie. Earlier this year, the CPP Investment Board purchased a 50 per cent interest in a portfolio of 11 office properties across Canada from Oxford Properties. Last month the CPP Investment Board was the lead investor in a consortium that acquired O&Y Properties and O&Y REIT, which includes the purchase of First Canadian Place in Toronto, Canada’s tallest office building. With the investment in Galeries de la Capitale and Carrefour de L’Estrie, the CPP Investment Board real estate portfolio of predominately Canadian property totals more than $4.0 billion. ”This acquisition is consistent with our goal to further diversify the CPP reserve fund by investing in real return assets such as high quality real estate,” said David Denison, President and CEO of the CPP Investment Board. “These kinds of real estate properties are attractive because they provide a stable and inflation sensitive source of income.”
|
Description |
Property Includes |
|
| Galeries de la Capitale, in Quebec City |
Two level enclosed shopping centre with 1.5 million square feet of gross leasable area |
Mega Parc, a mini amusement area and the retail anchors Sears, The Bay, Zellers, Famous Players and Simons |
|
Carrefour de L’Estrie, in Sherbrooke |
Two-level enclosed shopping centre with 1.2 million square feet of gross leasable area |
Sears, The Bay, Zellers, Rona and Metro |
The CPP reserve fund, which is made up of assets not needed to pay current CPP benefits, is $91.7 billion as at September 30, 2005.
CPP Investment Board
The CPP Investment Board invests the funds not needed by the Canada Pension Plan to pay current benefits. Cash flows are currently invested in equities, bonds and real return assets, including real estate and infrastructure. By increasing the long-term value of funds, the CPP Investment Board will help the Canada Pension Plan to keep its pension promise to 16 million Canadians. With a mandate from the federal and provincial governments, the CPP Investment Board is accountable to Parliament and to the federal and provincial finance ministers who serve as the stewards of the CPP. Based in Toronto, CPP Investment Board is governed and managed independently of the Canada Pension Plan and at arm’s length from governments. For more information about the CPP Investment Board, visit www.cppib.ca.
For further information contact:
John Cappelletti
Manager – Communications
CPP Investment Board
416-868-0308