B.C. pension fund to sell Canadian hotels

B.C. pension fund to sell Canadian hotels

Relative unknown Leadon Investment Inc., has entered an agreement to buy B.C. Investment Management Corp.’s portfolio of hotels across Canada for more than $1 billion. Investment Canada has reviewed the purchase of a string of hotels and management operations owned by SilverBirch Hotels & Resorts to Leadon Investment Inc., a private investor group with ties to Hong Kong.

Vancouver Province – Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

QuadReal buys Ivanhoe’s Oakridge Centre

Ivanhoé Cambridge is selling Vancouver’s Oakridge Centre to QuadReal Property Group but terms of the deal are not being released, QuadReal announced. QuadReal is owned by Vancouver’s British Columbia Investment Management Corp. (bcIMC) while Ivanhoé Cambridge is owned by Quebec’s Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.

Business In Vancouver – Canada Newswire – Property Biz Canada

Metro Vancouver industrial shortage a boon for owners

A severe shortage of industrial space in Metro Vancouver has been a boon for property owners but has brought tough times for industrial businesses that want to expand, relocate or set up operations in the region, a panel of experts said in Vancouver this week.

Property Biz Canada

Vancouver set to lose more gas stations

More gas stations will be disappearing from Vancouver because of the hot real estate market, as Chevron Canada Ltd.  (CVX-N) plans to put another five stations in the pricey west side up for sale. The company decided to sell the five locations after marketing three others last year, including one of only two gas stations in the downtown core.

Globe and Mail – Financial Post

Wynne halts plans for TO road tolls

Kathleen Wynne says she won’t approve Toronto’s toll plan for the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway until suburban drivers have better transit alternatives to get to and from the downtown area. Wynne said Friday a highway tolls plan for Toronto won’t be approved until expanded transit options are in place.

CBC – Toronto Star – Globe and Mail – Toronto Star

George Brown to be part of Daniels Waterfront

George Brown College and The Daniels Corporation have further cemented their close relationship with the announcement that the school will become part of Daniels Waterfront – City of the Arts.

Property Biz Canada

Developers fighting Winnipeg’s new growth fees

The Court of Queen’s Bench is going to be asked by developers to strike down the City of Winnipeg’s new growth fees. The Manitoba Home Builders Association and the Urban Development Institute have filed a notice of application, saying they will seek to have the impact fee declared invalid.

Daily Commercial News

Tip Top owner granted court protection

The owner of Tip Top Tailors, George Richards Big and Tall, Kingsport and other brands is asking for protection from its creditors as it restructures while facing tens of millions of dollars in debt. Grafton Fraser Inc. sought and was granted court protection under the Companies Creditors Arrangement Act this week.

CBC – Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Scotiabank unveils ‘digital factories’

Scotiabank (BNS-T) has launched “digital factories” in five countries in a bid to attract top tech talent and speed up the development of online and mobile banking solutions. The flagship factory in downtown Toronto, which executives opened up to media on Thursday, is being joined by four smaller versions in South America and Mexico.

Financial Post – Globe and Mail (Subscription required) – Techvibes

Jean Coutu family blasts Quebec drug policies

Quebec pharmacy mogul Jean Coutu (PJC.A-T) and his son are denouncing the policies implemented by the Couillard government on their industry, and say they are “re-evaluating a lot of things” — including their investments in Quebec. Jean Coutu also suggested the firm had received offers for a buyout, all of which have been refused thus far.

Montreal Gazette – Montreal Gazette

Edmonton councillor pushes for transportation hub

With Greyhound passengers now semi-stranded without even sidewalks to connect with transit, one Edmonton city councillor is saying it’s high time to plan a true transportation hub. Coun. Andrew Knack wants an intermodal transportation hub to mimic what’s done in many large cities — to give a better ‘Welcome to Edmonton.’

Edmonton Journal

Nenshi touts Calgary for infrastructure bank

Mayor Naheed Nenshi says he received a “polite” reception as he pitched the federal cabinet on the idea of Calgary as home base for a planned new infrastructure bank. The Liberal government announced last fall it would create a new Canada Infrastructure Bank that would use both federal dollars and private-sector funding to finance infrastructure projects.

Calgary Herald – Globe and Mail

Can Caisse keep new transit project on rails?

When Montreal’s Metro pulled its brand-new subway trains last week, it was a reminder big transit projects rarely go off without a glitch. The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec experienced that truism itself after the province’s environmental-assessment board released a damning 323-page report on its proposed $5.9-billion plan for a 67-kilometre electric train.

Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

OMERS takes role in Fairfax’s Allied buy

Ontario pension fund manager OMERS will invest US$1 billion in support of a takeover of the Allied World Assurance by Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. (FFH-T) announced late last year. OMERS and Fairfax said Friday the pension fund manager has agreed to indirectly acquire a roughly 21 per cent stake in Allied World, subject to certain regulatory approvals.

Winnipeg Free Press – Bloomberg

Blackstone readies huge Asia real estate fund

Blackstone Group LP (BX-N) is readying a new Asia-focused real estate fund that aims to raise a record $5 billion US or more, betting on strong returns from property investments in the region, people familiar with the plans told Reuters. The world’s biggest alternative asset manager will likely launch the fund in the next 12-16 months.

Reuters

Real Estate Companies

Feds ante up for CMHR tax bill

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights is operating in the black, after the federal government paid its city tax bill. At the CMHR annual general meeting Thursday, chief financial officer Susanne Robertson reported federal government funding approved in December 2016 would cover $8 million for payments in lieu of taxes (PILT) owed to the City of Winnipeg.

CBC – Winnipeg Free Press

Ford puts price tag on Mexico closure

Ford Motor Co. (F-N) revealed Thursday the price paid for its aggressive push to curry favour with President Donald Trump: $200 million US. Within fourth-quarter results that met analyst expectations, Ford took a $200-million charge to cover the cost of abandoning a small-car factory in Mexico that would have built the Focus compact.

Bloomberg – Toronto Star – CBC

Real Estate Investment Trusts

Collect $1,000 a month from Artis

Here’s how anyone can collect $1,000 per month using a high-quality REIT like Artis Real Estate Investment Trust (AX.UN-T). Artis owns nearly 27 million square feet of commercial real estate. Approximately half of its net operating income comes from office space with the remainder split between retail and industrial property. 

Motley Fool – Property Biz Canada

Chartwell investors enjoying big returns

If you want to invest in our older folks, try real estate. Chartwell Retirement Residences (CSH.UN-T) is up 72 per cent over the past five years (to the end of 2016). That’s significantly better than the 28-per-cent gain for the S&P/TSX composite index over the same period.

Globe and Mail (subscription required) – Property Biz Canada

Retail

Walmart going after Costco’s lucrative car business

Walmart is going after one of Costco’s most lucrative businesses: car sales. The retailer is diving into the car business through a partnership with CarSaver, a website that lets customers shop for, finance, and insure vehicles, Automotive News reports.

Business Insider

Performance Sports to sell assets to Sagard, Fairfax

Performance Sports, the troubled manufacturer of sporting equipment including Bauer hockey skates, is seeking approval from a U.S. court to sell its assets to Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. and Sagard Holdings Inc. Capital Partners L.P for US$575 million, after failing to find a more attractive bid.

Financial Post – Toronto Star – MontrealGazette

Metro sticking with Air Miles

Metro (MRU-T) has reaffirmed its commitment to the Air Miles program after a report implied it might be looking to drop the loyalty program in Ontario. The Montreal-based chain sent an email to Air Miles users saying that for close to 20 years it had “proudly sponsored” the program, which drew member ire for a since-cancelled points-expiry policy.

Financial Post

Restaurants and Eateries

Tim Hortons coming to Mexico

Restaurant Brands International Inc. (QSR-T) said it would launch its coffee and doughnut chain, Tim Hortons, in Mexico as a part of its expansion plans. The company said it would form a master franchise joint venture with a group of investors, whom they did not name, to launch the brand.

Reuters – Financial Post

McDonald’s sells Nordic restaurants

McDonald’s (MCD-N) says it has sold its Nordic operations to Guy Hands, chairman of British equity firm Terra Firma, who will become the main franchiser for Denmark, Norway, Finland and Sweden.McDonald’s says the world’s biggest burger chain will “transfer its ownership interest” and grant a license to Hands who becomes “strategic partner.”

Montreal Gazette

Starbucks’ mobile pay brews up customer traffic jams

Starbucks Corp.’s (SBUX-Q) much-ballyhooed mobile-ordering system has brought a painful side-effect to the coffee giant: traffic jams at the pickup counter. Because customers are now able to order and pay for coffee via their phones, many of them now head directly to the part of the cafe where beverages are handed out.

Bloomberg – Bloomberg – CBC

New Development

Winnipeg planning ag-learning centre

One educator’s idea to teach his class where food comes from is turning into a new $6-million agricultural-learning centre. Seven Oaks School Division is building a state-of-the-art, farm-themed centre on 50 acres in the RM of West St. Paul. The site will include a 25,000-square-foot building and an outdoor classroom. 

Winnipeg Free Press

Human Resources

GM cutting up to 600 Ingersoll jobs: Union

Union officials say General Motors (GM-N) is cutting up to 600 jobs at its assembly plant near London, Ont. Mike Van Boekel, spokesman for Unifor Local 88, says the layoffs will take effect in July at the CAMI Assembly plant in Ingersoll, Ont. He says the move is directly linked to the company’s decision to shift production of the GMC Terrain to Mexico.

Toronto Star – CBC

Other

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