TULSA, OKLA. — Stan Johnson Co. has closed the $52.6 million sale-leaseback of 10 retail locations leased to BluePearl Veterinary Partners, a 24-hour emergency pet care provider, to Lexington Realty Trust (NYSE: LXP).
All of the properties, which span more than 139,000 square feet of emergence care space and administrative offices, are under a long-term lease. Five of the assets are in Florida, while the other properties in the portfolio are located in Georgia, Texas, Michigan and Illinois.
”This transaction is significant due to the low benchmark cap rate achieved for a small-cap company, the unique nature of the veterinary use and the complexity of the master-lease structure,” says Joshua Pardue of Stan Johnson’s New York Office, he represented both parties in the transaction.
According to Pardue, Tulsa, Okla.-based Stan Johnson structured the transaction in a way that helped capitalize the veterinary organization. He calls the structure a win-win that facilitated the investment objectives of Lexington.
Tampa, Fla.-based BluePearl Veterinary Partners LLC is a privately owned company, which offers specialty and emergency veterinary medicine. BluePearl is wholly owned by its employees and veterinary professionals and operates 33 locations in 13 states.
According to Stan Johnson, the veterinary business is a $30 billion industry that posted a 4.6 percent growth in revenue during 2012. More than six in 10 U.S. households (62 percent) own a pet.
New York-based Lexington Realty Trust is a real estate investment trust that invests in, owns and manages commercial properties net leased to major corporations throughout the United States. The company’s stock price closed at $10.50 per share on Friday, Dec. 6, up from $9.73 per share a year ago.