Slate Grocery REIT

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Slave Grocery Week second quarter 2023 financial results conference call. At this time, all lines are in the listen-only mode. Following the presentation, we will conduct a question-and-answer session. If at any time during this call you require immediate assistance, please press star zero for the operator. This call is being recorded on Thursday, August 3, 2023. I would now like to turn the conference over to Paul Valenfee. Senior Vice President, National Retail Sales and Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone. Welcome to the Q2 2023 conference call for Slate Grocery REIT. I am joined this morning by Blair Welch, Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Agatep, Outgoing Chief Financial Officer, Joe Placatus, Incoming Chief Financial Officer, Connor O'Brien, Managing Director, Alan Gordon, Senior Vice President, and Braden Lyons, Vice President. Before getting started, I would like to remind participants that our discussion today may contain forward-looking statements, and therefore we ask you to review the disclaimers regarding forward-looking statements as well as non-IFRS measures, both of which can be found in management's discussion and analysis. You can visit Slate Grocery REIT's website to access all of the REIT's financial disclosure, including our Q2 2023 investor update, which is now available. I will now hand over the call to Blair Welch for opening remarks.

Thanks, Paul. Our Q2 results highlight our team's continued operational excellence and ability to drive consistent organic growth across our portfolio. Our team achieved a record 1 million square feet of total leasing at attractive spreads that drove occupancy and revenue growth. New deals were completed at 23.7% above comparable average in place rents and non-option renewals at 10.9% above expiring rents. New leasing drove a 70 basis point occupancy gain from the beginning of the year. Our occupancy at the end of the quarter was 93.9%, with no grocery expiries for the remaining of this year. Our strong operational performance continues to drive same property NOI growth, which has increased 2.7% on a trailing 12-month basis. Throughout the quarter, we further strengthened the REITs balance sheet to create liquidity and financial flexibility. To maintain our fixed debt that helps keep our cash flow strong, We entered into a $175 million forward swap and amended an existing $137 million swap that was set to mature in July of 2027. At the close of the quarter, 96.6% of the REIT's total debt is fixed, and no debt maturities remain for the remainder of this year. Year-to-date, the REIT has repurchased nearly a million units at a significant discount to our net asset value. We have strong conviction in the value of our grocery anchored real estate. Fundamentals for grocery anchored centers remain strong. Limited availability coupled with the lack of new supply coming into the market is creating a favorable dynamic for owners to grow rents. As consumers continue to spend more on goods and services that are close to home, tenant mix has become increasingly important. Centers like ours with a strong anchor tenant that drives foot traffic and a high proportion of essential tenants are benefiting. We believe our portfolio is well positioned for continued stable growth. At $12.29 rent per square foot, average rent in our portfolio remains well below market. This provides significant runway for us to increase rents and grow the overall value of our business. We also continue to actively underwrite Compelling single asset portfolio opportunities that would be accretive to unit holders enable us to grow further strategically through high quality acquisitions. On behalf of the Slate Grocery team and the board, I'd like to thank the investor community for their continued confidence and support. I will now hand it over for questions.