• Four vacant properties sold, three former Priszm/KFC sites re-leased
• Committed occupancy currently 96.5 per cent
• 75 per cent of 2013 lease maturities already renewed
• $21.9 million mortgages extended to 2022

TORONTO, Jan. 10, 2013 /CNW/ - KEYreit (TSX: KRE.UN) today provided the following updates:

Property Sales and Partial Repayment of IPO Mortgage

In December, KEYreit completed the previously announced sale of three properties located in the province of Quebec for gross proceeds of $1.9 million. The REIT used $1.843 million of the net proceeds from the sale to pay down a portion of the REIT's IPO Mortgage. As a result of this partial repayment, the IPO Mortgage has a current outstanding balance of $21.757 million.

Also in December, KEYreit completed the sale of one property located in Nova Scotia for gross proceeds of $95,000. The property was unencumbered and currently vacant.

Leasing Update

KEYreit's committed occupancy is now approximately 96.5 per cent and the REIT has addressed 75 per cent of the gross leasable area expiring in 2013, increasing its weighted average lease term to approximately eight years.

Since the release of KEYreit's third quarter 2012 results, three formerly disclaimed sites representing 6,892 square feet of gross leasable area have been re-leased. To date, of the 47 former KFC locations previously disclaimed, KEYreit has sold five properties and released 27 sites, representing a total of 70.1 per cent of the disclaimed gross leasable area.

A total of 15 disclaimed locations remain vacant, representing gross leasable area of 28,431 square feet, and the REIT expects to either sell or re-lease these sites within the next six to twelve months.

In addition, in December 2012, KEYreit also successfully extended two leases with Staples for the REIT's properties located in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island and Longueuil, Quebec. The lease extensions are for 10 years each and extend the lease terms to 2023.

Loan Extensions

KEYreit amended and extended eight first mortgages with an outstanding balance of $21.86 million. The first mortgages were assumed by IMC Limited Partnership from Pacific and Western Bank of Canada and are secured by eight properties tenanted by Shoppers Drug Mart. The mortgages bear a new term of 10 years, maturing on December 1, 2022, and a new interest rate of 4.65 per cent. The previous nine mortgages with an outstanding balance of $21.86 million as at December 1, 2012, had a term of five years maturing on October 1, 2016 and bore an interest rate of 4.5 per cent. No fee was paid to extend the mortgages.

In addition, KEYreit also fully repaid one first mortgage with an outstanding balance of $165 thousand as part of the above transaction.

"KEYreit is well positioned going into 2013 with stable cash flows, tenancies and growth opportunities; and we are committed to deliver in 2013 the releasing of the remaining vacant sites, disposing of non-core properties, refinancing its IPO mortgage and extending its loan maturity profile," said Teresa Neto, Chief Financial Officer of KEYreit. "With these announced transactions, KEYreit's committed occupancy is estimated to reach approximately 96.5 percent. The loan extensions on the Shoppers-related mortgages significantly improves the REIT's debt maturity schedule; and we continue to make progress towards the refinancing and repayment of the IPO Mortgage."

About KEYreit

KEYreit (TSX: KRE.UN) is Canada's premier small-box retail property owner with 227 properties in nine provinces across Canada. KEYreit's properties are well located and geographically diverse across Canada with the majority of all properties containing long-term quadruple net leases.

To find out more about KEYreit (TSX: KRE.UN), visit our website at www.keyreit.com. 

SOURCE KEYreit