CPP sells 50% stake in $1.5 billion Western Canada portfolio; Oxford deepens real estate footprint
Oxford Properties Group has acquired Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s (CPP Investments) 50 percent interest in a portfolio of seven downtown office properties across Calgary and Vancouver for $730m, according to a joint announcement.
This transaction gives Oxford full ownership of the portfolio, which totals approximately $1.5bn.
The deal includes Eau Claire Tower, Centennial Place and 400 Third in Calgary, along with the Stack, Guinness Tower, the Marine Building and MNP Tower in Vancouver.
Combined, the assets span 4 million square feet and include several properties built after 2010.
Oxford, the global real estate arm of pension fund manager OMERS, now fully owns buildings that have seen recent construction or renovations.
Eau Claire Tower, built in 2016, is a 25-storey, LEED Gold certified tower with 611,000 square feet.
Centennial Place, built in 2010, totals 1.3 million square feet, and 400 Third, built in 1988, adds another 820,000 square feet.
In Vancouver, the Stack is described as Canada’s first zero carbon office tower, built in 2023 with 558,000 square feet.
Guinness Tower and the Marine Building were both renovated in 2014 and have 262,000 and 177,000 square feet respectively. MNP Tower was built in 2014 and offers 277,000 square feet.
According to the press release, the properties report long-term leases with a diversified mix of tenants across industries including financial services, technology, legal, transportation and natural resources.
The buildings are positioned in what the release calls a “flight to quality,” noting that the portfolio has outperformed both Calgary and Vancouver’s downtown office markets.
Tyler Seaman, executive vice-president, Canada, Oxford Properties, said the company “has been a net seller of office for over a decade to achieve portfolio diversification” and added, “We believe now is an opportune time to rotate capital back into this asset class.”
Oxford and CPP Investments have held a longstanding relationship, and the press release stated they will continue to co-own a substantial portfolio across Canada following this transaction.
Daniel Fournier, executive chair, Oxford Properties, said the transaction “reaffirms our deep conviction in the outperformance of high-quality, well-located office properties.”
He said Oxford is “proud to build on our successful, 20-year track record of doing business together.”
Sophie van Oosterom, managing director, head of real estate at CPP Investments, said the deal “highlights our strong, ongoing partnership with Oxford,” and described it as a continuation of CPP Investments’ real estate strategy to redeploy capital and support global portfolio growth.
The release also stated that Oxford’s Canadian office portfolio has more than 95 percent committed occupancy, with performance driven by assets in Calgary, Toronto and Vancouver.
