NEW YORK CITY—Not selling a property can be as informative as selling it, it seems. At least that's what Tanger Factory Outlet Centers Executive VP and CFO Frank C. Marchisello Jr. said as he discussed various avenues of sector growth at NAREIT's REITWeek 2014.
At Tanger's first quarter conference call, President and CEO Steve Tanger mentioned that a sale of a portfolio including its center in Barstow, CA, was put off when the announced development of a casino nearby created more tenant interest in the project. There was a bit more behind the story than that.
“It was somewhat of an exercise for us,” Marchisello said. Tanger had considered selling the five-center portfolio, which consisted of solid but second-tier projects. But in a highly consolidated industry (75 percent of all quality outlet centers in the United States are owned either by Tanger or rival Simon Property Group), who might be interested in acquiring them?
At the same time, Tanger had found an acquisition that it would fund from the proceeds of the sale. When one of those owners opted not to sell, Tanger would have generated a huge gain from its own transaction. Combined with the new interest in Barstow, the sale was pulled despite interest from potential buyers.
“These assets are not falling off a cliff,” but instead are growing solidly, Marchisello said. “We might look at it again in the future.”
Instead, development remains the focus, with Marchisello anticipating one to two new Tanger developments in the United States each year. Overall, the country should see another 90 or so more projects. The company also is building one in Canada, which should have a total capacity for 12 or so outlets nationwide.
“It's the controlled growth our tenants want,” Marchisello said.
Imagine that.
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