TORONTO, July 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- European Residential Real Estate Investment Trust (“ERES” or “the REIT”) (TSX:ERE.UN) announced today that it has closed on two dispositions of an aggregate 530 residential suites in the Netherlands for approximately €114.9 million in combined gross proceeds. ERES also announced that it has closed on the sale of one office building in the Netherlands for approximately €1.1 million. All amounts disclosed herein exclude transaction costs.

In June 2024, ERES completed the sale of 66 residential suites for approximately €14.2 million, with proceeds used in part to repay approximately €7.0 million in associated mortgage principal outstanding. On July 15, 2024, ERES closed on another sale of 464 residential suites for approximately €100.7 million, with partial proceeds used to repay approximately €62.8 million in associated mortgage principal outstanding. Also in July 2024, ERES completed the disposition of one office property in the Netherlands for approximately €1.1 million, with net proceeds used in full to pay down its associated portfolio of mortgage principal outstanding. As at March 31, 2024, the associated mortgages together had a weighted average term to maturity of approximately 3.9 years, and a weighted average interest rate of approximately 3.2%. Net proceeds from the transactions are intended to be used for the repayment of amounts outstanding on the revolving credit facility.

“We’ve been exploring various liquidity-generating opportunities in order to sturdy the REIT’s financial position and reduce its exposure to interest rate risk, and these three strategic dispositions accomplish just that,” commented Mark Kenney, Chief Executive Officer. “These transactions have freed up capital that we can reallocate into the repayment of our higher interest credit facility debt, which will reduce our leverage, enhance our cash flows, and strengthen our balance sheet.”

“Furthermore, we were able to complete these sales at prices at or above IFRS fair values, reinforcing the high quality of our property portfolio,” said Jenny Chou, Chief Financial Officer. “We’ve also been surfacing capital through our suite-by-suite privatization program, as we’ve completed the sale of an additional 53 individual suites during the second quarter of 2024, which generated €14.2 million in incremental gross proceeds. We’re pleased to be executing on our commitment to maximize unitholder value through all possible means, and we remain focused on this mission going forward.”

ABOUT ERES
ERES is an unincorporated, open-ended real estate investment trust. ERES’s units are listed on the TSX under the symbol ERE.UN. ERES is Canada’s only European-focused multi-residential REIT, with a current portfolio of high-quality, multi-residential real estate properties in the Netherlands. As at March 31, 2024, ERES owned 158 multi-residential properties, comprised of approximately 6,900 residential suites and ancillary retail space located in the Netherlands, and owned one commercial property in Germany and one commercial property in Belgium. For more information about ERES, its business and its investment highlights, please visit our website at www.eresreit.com and our public disclosure which can be found under our profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.