Global Net Lease, Inc.

Good afternoon, and welcome to Global Net Lease First Quarter 2022 Earnings Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. If anyone should require operator assistance during the conference, please press star zero on your telephone keypad. Please note this conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Lisa Corto, Executive Vice President. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Operator. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us for GNL's first quarter 2022 earnings call. This call is being webcast in the investor relations section of GNL's website at www.globalnetlease.com. Joining me today on the call to discuss the quarter's results are Jim Nelson, GNL's Chief Executive Officer, and Chris Masterson, GNL's Chief Financial Officer. The following information contains forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks and uncertainties. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. We refer all of you to our SEC filings, including the Form 10-K for the year ended December 31st, 2021, filed on February 24th, 2022, and all other filings with the SEC after that date for a more detailed discussion of the risk factors that could cause these differences. Any forward-looking statements provided during this conference call are only made as of the date of the call. As stated in our SEC filings, G&L disclaims any intent or obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements except as required by law. Also during today's call, we will discuss non-GAAP financial measures, which we believe can be useful in evaluating the company's financial performance. These measures should not be considered in isolation or the substitute for our financial results prepared in accordance with GAAP. Reconciliation of these measures to the most directly comparable gap measure is available in our earnings release and supplement, which are posted to our website at www.globalnetlease.com. Please also refer to our earnings release for more detailed information about what we consider to be implied investment-grade tenants, a term we will use throughout today's call. I'll now turn the call over to our CEO, Jim Nelson. Jim?

Thanks, Louisa, and thank you to everyone for joining us on today's call. I am pleased to share that GNL is well positioned for a strong 2022 based on the acquisitions and leasing pipelines we are building and the recast of our corporate credit facility at improved pricing subsequent to quarter end. Our high quality mission critical net lease portfolio is performing well with occupancy of 98.7% and 100% rent collection. We are advancing our differentiated international and domestic strategies by increasing portfolio concentration in industrial and distribution assets, successfully extending and expanding leases, and building a pipeline of accretive acquisitions while evaluating strategic disposition opportunities on an ongoing basis. Since the beginning of 2020, over 81% of G&L's acquisitions have been industrial and distribution assets, increasing G&L's ownership to this highly dependable asset class up from 46% to 55% of the portfolio. We continue to drive growth as year over year cash NOI for the first quarter increased by more than 7% to 87.2 million and AFFO increased by more than 9% to 44.3 million. AFFO per share was 43 cents and we paid dividends to common stockholders of 40 cents per share. Our portfolio debt is 87.6% fixed rate, providing added certainty in a period of rising rates. The first quarter also illustrated the value of our efficient hedging program, which minimized the impact of turbulence in the euro and the pound on GNL's results. Our unique global capabilities, strong balance sheet, and best-in-class portfolio continue to drive GNL's excellent performance. Turning to leasing activity, In the first quarter, we executed two lease renewals and three renewal and expansion leases, totally 1.2 million square feet and 54 million of net new straight line rent over the new weighted average remaining lease term. We signed two tenant renewal and expansions in France with Auchan for over 170,000 square feet. These leases are for 11 years and total 15 million of net new annualized straight line rent. Closer to home, we signed the lease renewal and expansion with Lippert in South Bend, Indiana, for a total of over 780,000 square feet on a 16-year term and for $16 million in net new annualized straight-line rent. I am particularly proud of our successful leasing activity over the last quarter and the growth it provides for G&L. These renewed leases contributed to a year-over-year increase in portfolio-weighted average remaining lease terms, despite the passage of a full year. On a square foot basis, 70% of our leases expired after 2026. Our 4.6 billion, 309 property portfolio has a weighted average remaining lease term of 8.4 years. Geographically, 235 of our properties are in the U.S. and Canada, and 74 are in the U.K. and Western Europe, representing 61% and 39%. of annualized straight-line rent revenue, respectively. Our portfolio is well diversified with 137 tenants in 50 industries, with no single industry representing more than 12% of the whole portfolio based on annual straight-line rent. Over 94% of our leases feature annual rental increases, including, based on straight-line rent, 59% that are fixed rate and 28% that are adjusted based on the consumer price index. As we mentioned, we continue to expand the concentration of industrial properties in our portfolio. At the end of the first quarter, our assets were comprised of 55% industrial and distribution, 42% office and 3% retail, compared to 49% industrial and distribution, 46% office and 5% retail a year ago. Contributing to our success is our focus on tenant credit, industrial acquisitions, and retail dispositions over the last several years. Across the portfolio, almost 62% of annual straight line rent comes from investment grade or implied investment grade tenants. After closing on almost a half a billion dollars worth of acquisitions in 2021, we are beginning this year with continued activity. Our forward acquisitions pipeline totals 111.9 million and includes one industrial property in the U.S. for $13.4 million, which closed on April 19, 2022, and one office and three industrial properties for $98.5 million, subject to LOIs. Combined, these acquisitions have a weighted average cap rate of 7.5% with over 14.5 years of lease term remaining. Our team is also evaluating strategic disposition opportunities and searching for additional acquisition targets that meet our stringent investment requirements. Management continues to diligently evaluate domestic and international sale leaseback transactions to generate superior risk-adjusted returns. Subsequent to quarter end, we recast our corporate credit facility with a new 1.45 billion revolving credit facility that has a 4.5-year term and improved pricing that is 15 basis points lower then the facility is replaced. A recast facility acquisitions pipeline and successful leasing activity, along with the reputation we have earned over the last few years as a premier sale leaseback partner for mission-critical industrial and office properties, positions GNL for a strong 2022 and beyond. With that, I'll turn the call over to Chris to walk through the financial results in more detail before I follow up with some closing remarks.