W. P. Carey Announces Investments Totaling $282 Million

NEW YORK, Jan. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- W. P. Carey Inc. (NYSE: WPC), a leading net lease REIT specializing in corporate sale-leasebacks, build-to-suits and the acquisition of single-tenant net lease properties, today announced six investments completed during the 2019 fourth quarter totaling approximately $282 million and more than 2.7 million square feet. The investments are located in the U.S. and Europe and are diversified across property types. The properties are triple-net leased to industry-leading tenants with a weighted-average lease term of approximately 20 years.

Together with completed capital investment projects and other investments, this activity brings total investment volume for the 2019 fourth quarter to approximately $410 million and for the full year to $870 million.

Recent investments completed during the 2019 fourth quarter include:

• $94 millionsale-leaseback of a 1.2 million square foot logistics and distribution facility net leased to a well-known S&P 500 manufacturing company. The facility is the tenant's second largest distribution center in the U.S., used primarily for distribution to its east coast markets and South America. It is located in the greater Charlotte area on the border of North and South Carolina in close proximity to key transportation routes, including Interstate 485 and Interstate 77. The lease is guaranteed by the tenant's parent company, which is rated A by Standard & Poor's and Baa1 by Moody's. The asset is triple-net leased for a period of 12 years with fixed annual rent escalations.
   
• $56 million acquisition of a 243,000 square foot experiential retail store, net leased to a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bass Pro Group, LLC, a leading provider of outdoor sporting goods in the U.S. and Canada founded in 1971. The facility, located on Interstate 78 in Pennsylvania, has been in operation for more than 17 years. The state-of-the-art asset is a destination experiential retail location, featuring restaurants, nature exhibits, a museum, conference rooms and an aquarium, that along with the breadth of its product offerings and level of in-store customer service, differentiate it from its mass market and e-commerce competitors. The lease is guaranteed by the tenant's ultimate parent, which is rated B+ by Standard & Poor's and Ba3 by Moody's. The asset is triple-net leased for a period of 24.5 years with CPI-based rent escalations.
   
• $39 million sale-leaseback of a six-property portfolio, comprising four flex-industrial and two office facilities totaling 213,000 square feet and representing the majority of the tenant's operating footprint. The mission-critical portfolio is net leased to a leading engineering design solutions and analysis provider that serves a broad range of industries, including energy, consumer packaging and logistics. The facilities, located in Texas, Ohio and Louisiana, are master-leased on a triple-net basis for a period of 20 years with fixed annual rent escalations. W. P. Carey has also agreed to invest up to an additional $2.5 million in the expansion of the Ohio facility, with completion expected in late 2020.
   
• $38 million sale-leaseback of two logistics facilities located in Denmark and Sweden, totaling 496,000 square feet, net leased to Stark Group A/S, which was founded in 1896 and is the largest supplier of building and construction products in the Nordic region. The two assets are strategically located in prime distribution centers with easy access to major highways and shipping routes. The assets are triple-net leased for a period of 20 years with annual Danish and Swedish CPI-based rent escalations.
   
• $38 millionacquisition of a modern, 385,000 square foot Class-A distribution facility in the U.K. net leased to Poundstretcher Limited, a leading variety discount retailer established in 1981 with over 450 locations across the country. The facility is located in Yorkshire, within a core logistics corridor, in close proximity to major motorways and arterial routes and is triple-net leased for a period of 23 years with annual RPI-based rent escalations.
   
• $17 million sale-leaseback of a 162,000 square foot warehouse facility, net leased to Safco Dental Supply, a national distributor of dental products. Founded in 1945, the company offers more than 20,000 products to over 16,000 customers across the U.S. and benefits from strong private equity sponsorship. The facility is strategically located near Chicago's O'Hare Airport and is highly critical to the company's operations, housing its headquarters and sole distribution center. The asset is triple-net leased for a period of 20 years with fixed annual rent escalations.

Gino Sabatini, Head of Investments, W. P. Carey, said: "Today's announcement is a great example of the benefit of having on-the-ground teams in the U.S. and Europe with the local expertise and networks needed to efficiently close deals in accordance with the unique structuring and critical timing requirements of companies. The end of the year is often our most active period given our track record of timely execution and our ability to work with a range of tenants across diverse property types, geographies and industries. We're thrilled to add these high-quality assets to our growing portfolio, and we look forward to building on this momentum in the New Year."

About W. P. Carey Inc.
W. P. Carey Inc. ranks among the largest net lease REITs with an enterprise value of approximately $21 billion and a diversified portfolio of operationally-critical commercial real estate that includes 1,204 net lease properties covering approximately 138 million square feet. For over four decades, the company has invested in high-quality single-tenant industrial, warehouse, office, retail and self-storage properties subject to long-term net leases with built-in rent escalators. Its portfolio is located primarily in the U.S. and Northern and Western Europe and is well-diversified by tenant, property type, geographic location and tenant industry.

www.wpcarey.com

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of U.S. Federal securities laws. The comments of Mr. Sabatini are examples of forward-looking statements. A number of factors could cause W. P. Carey's actual results, performance or achievement to differ materially from those anticipated. Among those risks, trends and uncertainties are the general economic climate; the supply of and demand for commercial properties; interest rate levels; and other risks associated with the acquisition and ownership of properties, including risks that the tenants will not pay rent, or that costs may be greater than anticipated. For further information on factors that could impact W. P. Carey, reference is made to its filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

W. P. Carey Inc. Contacts:

Press Contacts:
Guy Lawrence
Ross & Lawrence
+1 212-308-3333
gblawrence@rosslawpr.com 

Anna McGrath
W. P. Carey Inc.
+1 212-492-1166 
amcgrath@wpcarey.com

Institutional Investors:
Peter Sands
+1 212-492-1110
institutionalir@wpcarey.com

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SOURCE W. P. Carey Inc.