PECO - Phillips Edison & Company Acquires Lake Pointe Market | Benzinga
CINNCINATI, Aug. 30, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) ("PECO" or the "Company"), one of the nation's largest owners and operators of omni-channel grocery-anchored shopping centers, today announced that it has acquired Lake Pointe Market, a 96.7%-occupied, 40,600-square-foot grocery-anchored neighborhood shopping center located in Rowlett, Texas. The center is shadow anchored by a Tom Thumb, the #1 grocer by sales in its three-mile trade area and one of the state's top-ranking grocers. The acquisition marks PECO's 12th shopping center in the greater Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.
Lake Pointe Market's dynamic merchandising mix features a blend of leading national, regional and local retailers, of which more than 70% provide necessity-based goods and services including H&R Block, Bank of America, Supercuts and OneMain Financial, as well as a variety of local shops which include personal services, restaurants and medical uses. Optimally located at the high-traffic intersection of Dalrock Road and Lakeview Parkway, Lake Pointe Market benefits from more than two million annual visits. The center is situated in a three-mile trade area with an estimated population of over 52,500 residents and an average household income of $119,300.
Jeff Edison, Chairman and Chief Executive at PECO, stated, "We remain focused on our goal of accretively growing our grocery-anchored neighborhood shopping center portfolio – at the right price – while achieving our acquisition hurdle of a 9% unlevered IRR. As previously announced, we plan to acquire $200 to $300 million in net acquisitions this year. In addition, we still have one of the lowest levered balance sheets in the shopping center space, which gives us the financial capacity to meet our acquisition objectives."
David Wik, Senior Vice President of Acquisitions at PECO, added, "Lake Pointe Market presented an excellent opportunity to expand our presence in the highly attractive Dallas/Fort Worth market, which benefits from strong demographics and economic fundamentals. This acquisition presents a variety of growth prospects, including the potential to develop ground-up outparcel retail spaces, increase occupancy and enhance the existing merchandising mix through the recapture of below market leases. We remain well-positioned to continue to gain share through future acquisitions of grocery-anchored shopping centers in densely populated suburban neighborhoods around the U.S."
PECO has identified a large, addressable market of more than 5,800 grocery-anchored neighborhood shopping centers anchored by the #1 or #2 grocer by sales in the market. These centers meet the Company's disciplined investment criteria and have the potential to provide continued opportunities for external growth. PECO's experienced, in-house acquisitions team focuses on growing suburban and Sun Belt markets that are diversified by grocer, geography and merchandising mix, which drives high-recurring foot traffic and ...