First Capital, Inc.

Your meeting is ready to begin. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Welcome to the first Capital Reads Q1 2022 results conference call. During the presentation, all participants will be in a listen-only mode. Afterwards, we will conduct a question and answer session. At that time, if you have a question, please press star 1 on your telephone keypad. I would now like to turn the conference over to Allison. Please proceed with your presentation.

Thank you and good afternoon, everyone. In discussing our financial and operating performance and in responding to your questions during today's call, we may make forward-looking statements. These statements are based on our current estimates and assumptions, many of which are beyond our control and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. A summary of these underlying assumptions, risks, and uncertainties is contained in our various securities filing, including our Q1 MD&A, our MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2021, and our current AIF, which are available on CDAR and our website. These forward-looking statements are made as of today's date, And except as required by securities law, we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any such statements. During today's call, we will also be referencing certain financial measures that are non-IFRS measures. These do not have standardized meanings prescribed by IFRS and should not be construed as alternatives to net income or cash flow from operating activities determined in accordance with IFRS. Management provides these measures as a complement to IFRS measures to aid in assessing the REITs performance. These non-IFRS measures are further defined and discussed in our MD&A, which should be read in conjunction with this conference call. I'll now turn the call over to Adam.

Thank you very much, Alison. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us today for our Q1 conference call. In addition to Alison, with me today are several members of the FCR team, including Jordy Robbins and Neil Downey, both of who you will hear from shortly. The first quarter was very busy for FCR. Demand for our space was strong across the portfolio, and our talented team capitalized on this demand, resulting in our highest first quarter leasing volume ever and our second highest volume for any quarter. This contributed to our average in-place rental rate increasing to a record high for the 23rd consecutive quarter. While same property NOI grew in Q1, it did so at a growth rate that is lower than our long-term average, in part due to a proactive temporary decline in occupancy. In a business like ours, vacant space fuels future growth, while enhancing the tenant mix at our properties we offer to the neighborhoods in which we operate and q1 was no exception as we proactively terminated all of the in-place leases at the former walmart and an adjacent gym space in our cedar bray property in toronto we didn't have to do this as the space was fully occupied however redevelopments like this provide a number of benefits and are a core competency of fcr in this case will be creating up to 24 units, an extensive exterior upgrade, a new entry point, and additional public space. These new units cater to the deepest levels of tenant demand given their dimensions and locations. This will result in an improved merchandising mix for the neighborhood, and the space will be integrated into the balance of the center in a more functional manner. In short, there are numerous qualitative improvements. From a financial perspective, the redevelopment is compelling as we expect the increase in value from the redevelopment to be significantly higher than our cost. In addition, it allows us to also surface meaningful value in our 3434 Lawrence property across the road, which Geordie will touch on. We're also seeing positive momentum in our assets that were most impacted by the pandemic. namely our residential rental assets in Toronto, which are seeing increased leasing velocity and significantly higher rental rates than even a few weeks ago. In Liberty Village, lease rates have rebounded significantly, and over the last couple of weeks, new residential leases have been signed at rental rates that are above our pre-pandemic peak. Another asset with momentum is our hotel in Yorkville. Besides an increase in bookings and the top ADR in Toronto, the hotel has just achieved a major milestone. It was awarded a Forbes Travel Guide five-star rating. Our property is now the only independent luxury boutique hotel in Canada to earn this esteemed accolade. To quote our team lead and hotel general manager, a Forbes five-star is the pinnacle of achievements for hotels across the globe. Congratulations to our entire Hazleton Hotel team for their tremendous efforts, passion, and perseverance, especially over the last couple of years. Brighter days are clearly ahead. The opportunity to acquire a 50% interest in the one restaurant operating business located in the hotel also presented itself during the quarter, which we took advantage of. While it's not material to FCR from a financial perspective, There is strategic value to this investment given our overall position in Yorkville. And our timing is proving to be fortuitous as the restaurant has had its strongest March and April in its 14-year history, pointing to what we expect will be an exceptional spring-summer season. Doherty will expand a bit on some of the other progress we are making in this neighbourhood. There's a lot going on in the world today. It's a dynamic market with interest rates increasing to historically normalized levels and inflation running high. Many of our gross rankered assets are irreplaceable, and that holds more true today than ever before. Replacement costs have increased and are now above market values. Supply will continue to be constrained, Tenant sales are rising and demand on the leasing side remains elevated, which should bode well for future rent growth, as well as downside protection on asset values in the face of higher interest rates, especially given the quality of the neighborhoods our properties are situated. As you know, in the short term, the capital markets can be emotional and volatile, which is currently the case. Our unit price is well off its recent highs and well below intrinsic value or NAV. At FCR, we are a real estate owner and operator first and foremost. We have an operating platform that has always been committed to exceptional operational standards and a real estate strategy that is proven and has delivered reliable growth over the last 25 years. We know that our prime locations in Canada's densest urban markets are in high demand from Canada's strongest retailers offering necessity-based goods and services. This combination will not only withstand short-term volatility, but continue to build future value. And speaking of standards, this quarter, we continue to advance our ESG priorities, further embedding environmental, social, and governance principles into our business and culture. I'm pleased to announce that First Capital is recognized this quarter as one of Canada's greenest employers. We have been at the forefront of environmental best practices in the Canadian real estate industry for well over a decade. This award complements our three consecutive year placement as one of Canada's top small and medium employers and one of Greater Toronto Area's top 100 employers. Public recognition of our efforts is nice, but it is not the reason we do what we do. What makes me extremely proud is all of the incremental behind-the-scenes work that our FCR team members focus on every day to make FCR a place where people feel valued and their innovative ideas are encouraged and implemented. That brings me to our ED&I work. I've mentioned before that our ED&I Council is an employee-led team focused on implementing our mission of creating an inclusive culture of belonging where all employees have an equal opportunity to thrive, love what they do, and grow their careers. Last week, FCR celebrated equity, diversity, and inclusion in a special week-long signature event series with keynote speakers on gender identity and gender expression and communicating as an ally, with lots of opportunity for discussion and interaction with staff. We capped off the week with a diverse panel of FCR team members from across the company sharing their lived experiences on the topic of belonging and how we can continue to be even more inclusive as an organization. Before I hand it over to Neil, I'd like to take this opportunity to welcome our summer interns who are listening to this call. We launched the internship program four years ago. And over that time, it has evolved into one of the most sought after internship programs. This year, we received over 5,000 applications for 17 positions. What sets this program apart is the real world experience the interns gain throughout the summer. This culminates in the CEO's Capstone Project, which is an interactive and collaborative project where teams of interns solve a real-life real estate challenge, which they formally present to the executive team at the end of the summer. Not an easy task, but invaluable experience at this stage of their careers. The program has attracted some of Canada's brightest students. and has become a talent pipeline for First Capital, which is helpful given the competitiveness of the current labor market. Five of last year's interns have joined FCR as full-time employees. These graduates now work in our leasing, technology, marketing, and people and culture departments. We look forward to providing more updates on ESG in the future. And in the meantime, the ESG section of our website is regularly updated and has a wealth of information on our activities. With that, I will now pass things over to Neil.