Cole Real Estate Investments Hit Upsurge

Thirty-nine single-tenant retail acquisitions in 12 states, amounting to USD 172.2m ' That's how much Cole real Estate Investments (Cole) has garnered over the past 30 days.

Founded in 1979, Cole Real Estate Investments is among the largest active players in the core real estate asset space. Real Capital Analytics, a leading research firm, states that Cole is the leading buyer of all single-tenant assets over the past decade in the United States. On July 2012, Cole & its related entities owned or had under their management over 1,880 properties or over 69.5M square feet, across 47 states and with a combined acquisition cost of over $11.4B.

Brian Garrigan, Vice President, Single-Tenant Retail Acquisitions, states, 'Our rather conservative strategic focus has been on core real estate properties that have long-term net leases and are home to creditworthy individuals. We are able to tap into the targeted options, which ensure that our portfolio of high-quality, single tenant retail properties remains diversified'.

Major portfolio transactions included:

• A 20-site convenience store portfolio that had 19 Stripes stores in Texas & one Road Ranger store in Illinois that was purchased by Cole for a combined price of USD 80M.
• The Benihana restaurant portfolio was acquired via a sale-leaseback transaction for USD 47.4M. Thirteen locations across Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, Texas, Alaska, Georgia & Michigan are part of this portfolio. This deal includes a new 20-year NNN leases with options.
• The Wawa Portfolio has 3 sites spread across New Jersey and Pennsylvania amounting to a combined USD 21.5M.

Over the last 30 days, the most salient acquisitions were made by Cole at

• USD 6.8M for the Gold's Gym in Broken Arrow, OK;
• USD 2.4M for the USAA Banking Facility in Fayetteville, NC;
• USD 14.1M for the Pick 'n Save in Sheboygan, WI, among others

Acquisitions exceeding USD 1.9B in real estate since early 2012, among which USD 716.6M are that of single-tenant retail, were completed by Cole. Acquisitions professionals from Cole have confirmed their attendance for the ICSC Western Division Conference in San Diego slated from 19/Sept'/12 to 21/Sept'/12'.