Nexus Real Estate Investment Trust plans to rebrand as Nexus Industrial REIT to better reflect its portfolio focus. The REIT, which graduated to the TSX last February, acquired 24 industrial properties over the course of 2021, adding 4.7 million square feet of gross leasable area to its holdings.
“Nexus began as an industrial focused REIT and the REIT has solely acquired industrial properties over the last several years. We feel that the new name better reflects the nature of the REIT’s current portfolio and its strategy of being a pure play industrial REIT,” says Kelly Hanczyk, the REIT’s Chief Executive Officer.
To begin 2022, Nexus has completed the acquisition of a 180,000-square-foot multi-tenant industrial facility on a 22-acre site in Regina. The $28 million deal is the first of six transactions already set to close this year, with the remaining five representing a $208 million outlay for nearly 1.3 million square feet of industrial space. Those properties, located in Montreal, Edmonton and London, Ontario, will boost the REIT’s inventory by nearly 14 per cent.
The REIT is also contracted to acquire a 550,000-square-foot distribution centre, which is currently under construction, as well as a London, Ontario facility where a 175,000-square-foot addition is now in progress. Both are expected to be completed in 2023.
The name change is subject to approval from the TSX.
