Opinions
Derek Warren
OneREIT
ONR.UN-T
COMMENT
Sep 11, 2015
Stock price when the opinion was issued
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This is a retail REIT and most of what they own is not of the highest quality. Faced some headwinds recently. They have a number of Zeller locations that have still not been re-tenanted, so their occupancy has gone lower. Bought some assets and raised equity at what he believes is a discount to their NAV. Payout ratio continues to remain above 100%.
Tertiary retail. This is undergoing a strategic review, and he doesn’t think a lot is going to happen with this review. They do have a couple of great properties that will attract a bit more attention, but also have many that are less attractive. He doesn’t like transition stories, so he would wait on the sidelines.
Retail strips in what he would characterize as secondary cities. With this, you are really banking on the payout ratio declining from 90% to about 80% next year, when some of their redevelopments starts to have a positive contribution on cash flow. Leverage is relatively high. He prefers Smart REIT(SRU.UN-T) which is a little better positioned, being larger and Walmart anchored.
This is retail, which has seen pressure. It has done quite well. An owner of secondary, tertiary market. For example, there are some great properties in Mississauga that are very solid, but a lot of its markets are in smaller markets. It has done a strategic review and looking at whether they should put themselves up for sale, sell properties, etc. Some of their tertiary markets are quite illiquid and can be challenging. Retail is a tough game and he prefers an urban focus, larger cities and some of the street front retail.
Has gone through a rebranding and cut their dividend dramatically. It was an old, old structure with a high payout in tertiary markets which created a lot of weight on it. Management cut their dividend back to a responsible level. They have some very interesting development projects. Although it is a very small REIT, they have 15% of their balance sheet under development right now. While that is a risk, it is perhaps an opportunity in tertiary markets. This could have an accelerated outcome should the economy start to improve.