ALLIED PROPERTIES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $35.46 - Toronto symbol AP.UN

ALLIED PROPERTIES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $35.46 (Toronto symbol AP.UN; Units outstanding: 74.6 million; Market cap: $2.7 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 4.0%; www.alliedreit.com) owns 138 office buildings, mostly in major Canadian cities. These mainly Class I properties contain over 9.9 million square feet of leasable area.

Class I refers to 19th- and early-20th-century light industrial buildings that have been converted to retail space. They usually feature exposed beams, interior brick and hardwood floors.

Allied bought $400 million of properties in 2012 and $182.4 million worth in 2013. In the first half of 2014, it added six more for $110.0 million.

The trust’s new buildings helped raise its revenue by 9.8% in the quarter ended June 30, 2014, to $80.6 million from $73.4 million a year earlier. Cash flow per unit gained 6.3%, to $0.51 from $0.48.

In July 2012, Allied entered into a joint venture with RioCan REIT to buy buildings in urban areas that the partners can “intensify” to increase revenue and cash flow, mainly by adding tenants.

RioCan and Allied are combining their expertise to make these buildings into mixed-use office/ retail/residential developments. Adding a big partner like RioCan is a major plus for Allied. So far, they have completed two developments and have three more underway, all in Toronto.

Allied Properties REIT is a buy.

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