Slate Asset Management

In 2023, we initiated a comprehensive Materiality Assessment to identify the most material ESG topics facing Slate’s business verticals. Based on guidance from interviews with senior leadership, industry standards and best practices, investor expectations, and market circumstances, we narrowed in on the most relevant ESG factors that impact long-term value or pose a potential risk to our core business areas. These findings will help to ensure our ESG strategy is tailored to address the unique ESG risks and opportunities facing our teams. By focusing on topics that are core to our day-to-day business, we can prioritize resources and efforts on areas that drive the most value – both commercially and sustainably. Learn more in our 2023 ESG Report: https://bit.ly/3BiPIXa

The sea-can murals at Steelport, our 800-acre industrial development in Hamilton, Ontario, are complete! Sitting beside our onsite satellite office are four, 2x2 sea-can containers which we designated as canvases for public art. In partnership with local artists Jacqui Oakley and Jamie Lawson, known as Ver Sands, and Lester Coloma, we have brought to life vibrant artscapes that capture the legacy of the Steelport site, our vision for its future, and the spirit of the Hamilton community. Learn about our plans for Steelport as a hub for art and culture, our artist selection process, the artist’s visions for their unique designs, and more in our blog post: https://bit.ly/4hd0rms

Slate Grocery REIT has refinanced $500 million of debt, entering into a new credit facility agreement comprising a US$275 million revolving credit facility and a US$225 million term loan facility. The refinancing was completed with a syndicate of both existing and new institutional lenders at interest rate spreads similar to the maturing debt facility. Joseph Pleckaitis, CPA, Chief Financial Officer of Slate Grocery REIT, shared: “In today’s financing environment, our ability to refinance half a billion dollars of debt at such favorable economic terms reflects the strength and quality of our underlying real estate portfolio and the confidence our lenders have in the long-term growth and outlook of our business.” Learn more here: https://bit.ly/408PsV3

Last week, Slate announced the expansion of our European essential real estate platform with our first investment in Portugal – the acquisition of a portfolio of 12 grocery properties let entirely to Portugal’s leading grocery retailer, Continente, for approximately €150 million. In an interview with Green Street, Sven Vollenbruch, Managing Director at Slate, shared Slate’s view on what makes essential real estate assets, like grocery properties, a stable and attractive investment: “Focusing on essential real estate means that we’re focusing on assets that typically perform well in good and bad times, as the underlying tenant is operating a business or providing a service that is necessary.” Read more from Sven's interview with Mark Mwaungulu and Julie Cruz: https://bit.ly/3YugG7l

Molly Mahoney, Managing Director on our Capital Raising team, recently hosted two women’s lunches in London as part of Slate’s EmpoWRE Event Series, which gives women at Slate and across the real estate opportunities to network, connect, and exchange ideas in intimate, smaller-group settings. Thank you to all the women who joined us for an afternoon of thoughtful conversation and relationship building – we appreciate your continued support of this incredible network of women!

We are pleased to partner with YMCA of Hamilton|Burlington|Brantford on an ‘Alternative Suspension’ program as part of our ‘A Healthier Hamilton’ initiative, a long-term charitable giving program focused on improving wellness, economic, and environmental outcomes in Hamilton, ON. ‘Alternative Suspension’ is a community intervention program that provides support and resources to students who are struggling in school. The goal of the program is to successfully reintegrate students back into their academic surroundings and set them up to feel motivated and supported in an educational environment. On behalf of our Steelport development in Hamilton, we are proud to partner with organizations supporting a flourishing Hamilton community that is healthy, vibrant, and accessible to all. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3Z93MfP

Slate has expanded its European essential real estate strategy with the acquisition of a portfolio of 12 grocery properties in Portugal valued at approximately €150 million – our first investment in Portugal and one that further scales our portfolio of high-quality essential real estate assets in Europe. The portfolio is entirely let to Continente, Portugal’s largest grocery retailer, and is comprised of high-quality, strong performing stores that are well-located in large urban areas across Portugal. Slate has been an active investor in the European essential real estate market since 2016, transacting on approximately 1,000 commercial properties across 7 countries in the region to date. Thank you to our advisors on this transaction: Uría Menéndez, Engexpor, RPE Capital Markets, and KPMG Luxembourg. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3Ns0Aoi

This week, Sven Vollenbruch, Managing Director at Slate, spoke at EXPO REAL (Messe München) in Munich, Germany on a panel hosted by Lidl International. EXPO REAL is a premier real estate trade conference convening leaders from across the industry to discuss developments, innovations, and solutions within the global real estate market. Sven spoke alongside leaders from EQT Exeter, Lidl in Germany, and Schwarz Gruppe to discuss the resilient characteristics of grocery-anchored real estate and their part as critical infrastructure in the delivery of essential goods. #EXPOREAL2024 #EXPOREAL 

We are pleased to share an exciting public art initiative at the heart of Steelport – our 800-acre industrial development in Hamilton, Ontario! Sitting alongside our new onsite office are four sea-can containers in 2x2 formation, which we have designated as canvases for public art. We have partnered with local artists Jacqui Oakley and Jamie Lawson, known as Ver Sands, and Lester Coloma to create murals that capture the legacy of the Steelport site, our vision for its future, and the spirit of the Hamilton community. Our first mural by Ver Sands is now complete. This mural combines the themes of transformation, connection, growth, and the synthesis of nature / culture / industry in Hamilton to create a vibrant and surreal landscape that celebrates the rich history of the city and its people. Thank you, Ver Sands, for using your creative talent to bring stunning new art to this historic site. Stay tuned for more project updates. 

Last month, Marc-André Flageole, CFA, FRM, Managing Director, Public Markets & Head of Presima, a Slate Asset Management Business, and Christian Raute, Head of Markets Trading Strategy at Citi, co-hosted a lunch in Montreal to discuss the outlook of the global real estate market. Learn more below.