Thinking Outside the Box
There were several unique things about yesterdays announcement that Avison Young had finalized a $104M finance deal on behalf of Calloway REIT, according to the Avison guy who quarterbacked it--Norm Arychuk. Calloway had never done a financing deal like this before, says Norm--utilizing cashflow from a five-star, long-term existing tenant (four Walmart stores) as security for the private finance transaction. Norm says that was the key in locking down higher leverage and a lower interest rate, not as doable in the conventional mortgage world. Calloway had significant input into the deal, Norm says. Calloway VP Steve Liew says by using only Walmart assets while keeping the ancillary retail shopping centres free they have opened up room for future financing.
