TORONTO, Aug. 12, 2026 /CNW/ -- H&R Real Estate Investment Trust ("H&R" or "the REIT") (TSX: HR.UN) is pleased to announce its financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026.

H&R TO BE ACQUIRED IN $6.7 BILLION TRANSACTION

On August 11, 2026, the REIT announced that it had entered into an arrangement agreement with GO Residential Real Estate Investment Trust ("GO REIT") and 1001700058 Ontario Inc. ("Purchaser"), on behalf of a consortium of co-purchasers (which includes funds affiliated with Blackstone Real Estate, Crestpoint Real Estate Investments Ltd., the Public Sector Pension Investment Board and a company controlled by members of the family of Tom Hofstedter, Executive Chairman and CEO of the REIT ("CRAL") (collectively, the "Asset Purchasers"), pursuant to which GO REIT and the Purchaser (on behalf of the Asset Purchasers) have agreed to acquire all of the assets of H&R by way of a court-approved plan of arrangement under the Business Corporations Act (Alberta) in a cash and unit transaction valued at approximately $6.7 billion, including the assumption of certain debt (the "Transaction").

Under the terms of the Arrangement Agreement, H&R unitholders will receive $4.28 per unit in cash plus 0.5688 GO REIT units per H&R  Unit,  representing  a  value  of  $12.01  per  H&R  Unit  based  on  the  closing  unit  price  of  GO  REIT  on  the  TSX  and  a  prevailing Canadian/U.S. dollar exchange rate of 1.3942 on August 10, 2026. As partial consideration for CRAL's purchase price, CRAL will have its Units, together with Units owned or controlled by certain of its affiliates and associates as well as the Units of the CEO of the REIT, redeemed and ultimately cancelled. Such Units will not receive any GO REIT units or cash consideration pursuant to the Transaction. A total of 44,038,986 Units are expected to be cancelled. The Transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to unitholder, court, and regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

The Transaction concludes H&R's multi-year  strategy  to  simplify  its  portfolio  and  focus on  high-quality  residential assets,  delivers immediate cash and GO REIT unit consideration at a premium, and provides H&R unitholders with a 66.9% ownership stake in GO REIT on a pro forma basis.

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT Q2 2026 ACTIVITY

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

Included in AFFO for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026 is the add back of straight-lining of contractual rent relating to the 200 Bouchard Lease Termination Payment (as defined in the "Leasing Update" section below), equating to approximately $0.06 per Unit. Excluding this straight-lining of contractual rent adjustment, AFFO decreased by $15.6 million and $18.1 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026 compared to the respective 2025 periods.

Net Operating Income Highlights:

Same-Property net operating income (cash basis) from office properties increased by 53.8% and 22.9%, respectively, for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026 compared to the respective 2025 periods, primarily due to the 200 Bouchard Lease Termination Payment (as defined below), partially offset by the expiration of Royal Bank of Canada's lease for 188,526 square feet at 330 Front Street West, in Toronto, ON on December 31, 2025.

Straight-lining of contractual rent at the REIT's proportionate share decreased by 424.4% and 223.8%, respectively, for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026 compared to the respective 2025 periods, primarily due to the accounting under IFRS 16, Leases ("IFRS 16") relating to the 200 Bouchard Lease Termination Payment (as defined in the "Leasing Update" section below).

During the three and six months ended June 30, 2026, fair value adjustments on real estate assets were primarily due to the following: (i) a reduction in valuations of certain office properties to reflect increased leasing uncertainty and vacancy risk; and (ii) an increase in valuation of vacant industrial land in Caledon, ON, which was reclassified to assets held for sale during Q2 2026.

Transaction Highlights

Assets Classified as Held for Sale

As at June 30, 2026, H&R had one wholly-owned office property, a 98.5% interest in one office property, one wholly-owned industrial property, a 50% interest in two industrial properties and one wholly-owned industrial property under development classified as held for sale totalling $735.7 million. In addition, H&R had a 31.7% interest in one residential property within equity accounted investments classified as held for sale for $37.5 million.

In July 2026, H&R sold its 98.5% interest in one office property and its 50% interest in one industrial property, which were each classified as held for sale as at June 30, 2026, for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $78.1 million.

Leasing Update

H&R previously announced in Q3 2022 that it had entered into a lease amendment with Bell Canada to terminate their lease at 200 Bouchard Boulevard, Montreal, QC ("200 Bouchard") in December 2026. As part of this lease amendment, H&R received a lease termination payment of approximately $15.7 million in Q2 2026 ("200 Bouchard Lease Termination Payment"). IFRS 16 requires revenue from leases to be recognized on a straight-line basis over the contractual term of the lease, therefore, the related non-cash adjustment to straight-lining of contractual rent of approximately ($15.7) million was recorded in Q2 2026. Therefore, the 200 Bouchard Lease Termination Payment had no impact on net operating income and FFO (as defined below) for Q2 2026. However, Same-Property net operating income (cash basis) and AFFO (as defined below) were positively impacted by $15.7 million as H&R deducts non-cash items, including straight-lining of contractual rent, in calculating these amounts. Same-Property net operating income (cash basis), FFO and AFFO are non-GAAP measures. Refer to the "Non-GAAP Measures" section of this news release.

In July 2026, the 200 Bouchard lease was further amended to advance the lease termination date to August 2026, which resulted in H&R receiving the final lease termination payment ("200 Bouchard Final Lease Termination Payment") of $56.1 million in July 2026. As a result of the 200 Bouchard Final Lease Termination Payment, in Q3 2026, H&R expects to record a related non-cash adjustment to straight-lining of contractual rent of ($47.3) million to write off the remaining accrued rent receivable. Accordingly, 200 Bouchard is expected to contribute $9.3 million to net operating income and FFO in Q3 2026 compared to $5.4 million in Q2 2026. Furthermore, 200 Bouchard's contribution to Same-Property net operating income (cash basis) is expected to be $56.6 million in Q3 2026 compared to $17.3 million in Q2 2026. Same-Property net operating income (cash basis), FFO and AFFO are non-GAAP measures. Refer to the "Non-GAAP Measures" section of this news release.

Development Update

Equity Accounted Investments

H&R has a 50% managing ownership interest in 560 & 600 Slate Drive, a 26.6 acre land site in Mississauga, ON, located next to Toronto Pearson International Airport and in close proximity to access points on the 410, 401 and 407 Highways. In 2024, construction commenced on two single storey industrial buildings totalling 312,218 square feet and 162,395 square feet, respectively, at the 100% level. The buildings include sustainability elements such as EV charging stations and solar panel readiness and are targeting LEED Gold certification. Both properties have been leased at market rents for approximately 11 years to a single tenant. The lease at 560 Slate Drive commenced in March 2026 and the lease at 600 Slate Drive will commence in October 2026, with a 5-month rent free period at both properties commencing at the start of the respective lease term. The properties reached substantial completion in June 2026, and were transferred from properties under development to investment properties. As at June 30, 2026, the total budget for 560 & 600 Slate Drive was approximately $65.5 million with costs remaining to complete of $6.2 million, all at H&R's ownership interest. The yield on cost for the overall project is expected to be approximately 6.5%.

Debt & Liquidity Highlights.

Debentures

In June 2026, H&R redeemed all of its $250.0 million Series R Senior Debentures upon maturity, which bore interest at 2.906% per annum. The redemption was primarily funded using unsecured operating lines of credit.

Liquidity

As at June 30, 2026, H&R had cash and cash equivalents of $59.1 million and $703.2 million available under its unused lines of credit. H&R has an unencumbered property pool of approximately $3.3 billion, which is 3.21x unsecured debt.

As at June 30, 2026, debt to total assets per the REIT's Financial Statements was 30.9% compared to 38.4% as at December 31, 2025. As at June 30, 2026, debt to total assets at the REIT's proportionate share (a non-GAAP ratio, refer to the "Non-GAAP Measures" section of this news release) was 41.8% compared to 49.8% as at December 31, 2025. Debt to Adjusted EBITDA at the REIT's proportionate share (a non-GAAP ratio, refer to the "Non-GAAP Measures" section of this news release) was 7.1x as at June 30, 2026 compared to 9.3x as at December 31, 2025. The decrease in these financial metrics is primarily due to proceeds from the $1.5 billion of retail and office property sales in Q1 2026 being used to repay debt.

CONFERENCE CALL AND WEBCAST

Management will host a conference call to discuss the financial results of the REIT on Thursday, August 13, 2026 at 9.30 a.m. Eastern Time. Participants can join the call by dialing 1‐800‐717‐1738 or 1‐289‐514‐5100. For those unable to participate in the conference call at the scheduled time, a replay will be available approximately one hour following completion of the call. To access the archived conference call by telephone, dial 1‐289‐819‐1325 or 1‐888‐660‐6264 and enter the passcode 78930 followed by the "#" key. The telephone replay will be available until Thursday, August 20, 2026 at midnight.

A live audio webcast will be available through www.hr-reit.com/investor-relations/#investor-events. Please connect at least 15 minutes prior to the conference call to ensure adequate time for any software download that may be required to join the webcast. The webcast will be archived on H&R's website following the call date.

The investor presentation is available on H&R's website at www.hr-reit.com/investor-relations/#investor-presentation.

ABOUT H&R REIT

H&R is one of Canada's largest real estate investment trusts. H&R has ownership interests in a Canadian and U.S. portfolio primarily comprised of high‐quality residential (operating as Lantower Residential), industrial and office properties totalling approximately 20.5 million square feet.

FORWARD-LOOKING DISCLAIMER

Certain information in this news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws (also known as forward-looking statements) including, among others, statements made or implied relating to H&R's objectives, beliefs, plans, estimates, targets, projections and intentions and similar statements concerning anticipated future events, results, circumstances, performance or expectations that are not historical facts, including the statements made under the heading "Summary of Significant Q2 2026 Activity" including with respect to H&R's future plans and targets, the value of assets and liabilities held for sale, capitalization rates and cash flow models used to estimate fair values, the expected financial impact of the 200 Bouchard Final Lease Termination Payment on net operating income, Same-Property net operating income (cash basis), FFO and AFFO, expectations regarding future operating fundamentals, management's expectations regarding future distributions by the REIT, management's expectation to be able to meet all of the REIT's ongoing obligations, and statements relating to the Transaction, including the consideration to be paid to unitholders and the timing of and conditions to closing of the Transaction. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by words such as "outlook", "objective", "may", "will", "expect", "intend", "estimate", "anticipate", "believe", "should", "plans", "project", "budget" or "continue" or similar expressions suggesting future outcomes or events. Such forward-looking statements reflect H&R's current beliefs and are based on information currently available to management.

Forward-looking statements are provided for the purpose of presenting information about management's current expectations and plans relating to the future, and readers are cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are based on H&R's estimates and assumptions that are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors including those risks and uncertainties described below under "Risks and Uncertainties" and those discussed in H&R's materials filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities from time to time, which could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of H&R to differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. Material factors or assumptions that were applied in drawing a conclusion or making an estimate set out in the forward-looking statements include assumptions relating to the general economy, including debt markets continuing to provide access to capital at a reasonable cost; and assumptions concerning currency exchange and interest rates. Additional risks and uncertainties include, among other things, those related to: real property ownership; the current economic environment; tariffs and other international trade disputes; property valuations; credit risk and tenant concentration; lease rollover risk; interest rate and other debt-related risks; inflation risk; development risks; residential rental risk; capital expenditure risk; currency risk; liquidity risk; cyber security risk and breach of privacy or information security systems; artificial intelligence and related technologies; expanding social media vehicles; financing credit risk; ESG and climate change risk; public health crises; co-ownership interest in properties; business continuity; general uninsured losses; joint arrangement and investment risks; talent management and succession planning; potential acquisition, investment and disposition opportunities and joint venture arrangements; potential undisclosed liabilities associated with acquisitions; competition for real property investments; potential conflicts of interest; litigation and regulatory risk; Unit prices; availability of cash for distributions; credit ratings; ability to access capital; dilution; unitholder liability; redemption right; investment eligibility; debentures; statutory remedies; unitholder activism; tax risk; and additional tax risks applicable to the REIT and to unitholders. H&R cautions that these lists of factors, risks and uncertainties are not exhaustive. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what H&R believes are reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements.

Readers are also urged to examine H&R's materials filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities from time to time as they may contain discussions on risks and uncertainties which could cause the actual results and performance of H&R to differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. All forward-looking statements in this news release are qualified by these cautionary statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of August 12, 2026 and the REIT, except as required by applicable Canadian law, assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new information or the occurrence of future events or circumstances.

NON-GAAP MEASURES

The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of the REIT and related notes for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026 (the "REIT's Financial Statements") were prepared in accordance with IFRS Accounting Standards ("IFRS"). However, H&R's management uses a number of measures, including NAV per Unit, FFO, AFFO, FFO and AFFO per basic and diluted Unit, payout ratio as a % of FFO, payout ratio as a % of AFFO, debt to total assets at the REIT's proportionate share, debt to Adjusted EBITDA at the REIT's proportionate share, Same‐Property net operating income (cash basis) and the REIT's proportionate share, which do not have meanings recognized or standardized under IFRS or GAAP. These non‐GAAP measures and non‐GAAP ratios should not be construed as alternatives to financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP. Further, H&R's method of calculating these supplemental non‐GAAP measures and ratios may differ from the methods of other real estate investment trusts or other issuers, and accordingly may not be comparable. H&R uses these measures to better assess H&R's underlying performance and provides these additional measures so that investors may do the same.

For information on the most directly comparable GAAP measures, composition of the measures, a description of how the REIT uses these measures and an explanation of how these measures provide useful information to investors, refer to the "Non‐GAAP Measures" section of the REIT's management's discussion and analysis as at and for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026 available at www.hr‐reit.com and on the REIT's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.com, which is incorporated by reference into this news release.

FINANCIAL POSITION

The following table reconciles the REIT's Statement of Financial Position from the REIT's Financial Statements to the REIT's proportionate share (a non-GAAP measure):

DEBT TO ADJUSTED EBITDA AT THE REIT'S PROPORTIONATE SHARE

The following table provides a reconciliation of Debt to Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("Adjusted EBITDA") at the REIT's proportionate share (a non-GAAP ratio):

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following table reconciles the REIT's Results of Operations from the REIT's Financial Statements to the REIT's proportionate share (a non-GAAP measure):

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following table reconciles the REIT's Results of Operations from the REIT's Financial Statements to the REIT's proportionate share (a non-GAAP measure):

SAME-PROPERTY NET OPERATING INCOME (CASH BASIS)

The following table reconciles net operating income per the REIT's Financial Statements to Same-Property net operating income (cash basis) (a non-GAAP measure):

NAV PER UNIT

The following table reconciles Unitholders' equity per Unit to NAV per Unit (a non-GAAP ratio):

FUNDS FROM OPERATIONS AND ADJUSTED FUNDS FROM OPERATIONS

The following table reconciles net income (loss) per the REIT's Financial Statements to FFO and AFFO (non-GAAP measures):

Additional information regarding H&R REIT is available at www.hr-reit.com and on www.sedarplus.com. 

SOURCE H&R Real Estate Investment Trust