W. P. Carey Completes $210M Sale-Leaseback of 14 Auto Dealerships in Greater Vancouver Area

WP Carey Inc. (NYSE: WPC), a net lease real estate investment trust, completed an approximately $210 million sale-leaseback of a portfolio of 14 auto dealerships in Western Canada during the first quarter of 2026, the company announced March 31. The transaction anchored $580 million in total first-quarter investment volume for the firm.

Sale-Leaseback Details and Tenant Profile

The 14-property portfolio is concentrated in the Greater Vancouver area, with additional locations in Edmonton, Calgary and Winnipeg. The properties are net leased to Go Auto, which the company described as an established market leader and the second-largest automotive dealership group in Canada. At the time of the investment, Go Auto ranked as W. P. Carey's 22nd largest tenant by annualized base rent.

W. P. Carey noted that the dealerships carry strong site-level coverage, a metric used to assess a tenant's ability to service lease obligations from property-level cash flows. The transaction is structured as a net lease, meaning Go Auto is responsible for most property-level operating expenses.

First-Quarter Investment Volume: Industrial and Retail Real Estate Lead

The Go Auto transaction was the largest single deal in W. P. Carey's first-quarter activity. Across the full $580 million in Q1 investment volume, warehouse and industrial real estate comprised approximately 60% of deployment, while retail real estate accounted for the remaining 40%. From a geographic standpoint, approximately 45% of first-quarter volume was located in Europe and 35% in Canada, with the balance in the United States.

W. P. Carey's portfolio as of December 31, 2025 included 1,682 net lease properties covering approximately 183 million square feet.

In addition to completed first-quarter transactions, W. P. Carey reported approximately $170 million in capital investments and commitments scheduled to close during the remainder of 2026.

Commercial Real Estate Financing: Canadian-Dollar Term Loan

To finance the Go Auto real estate acquisition, W. P. Carey amended its credit agreement on March 11, 2026, replacing a €215 million euro-denominated term loan — repaid in February — with a new CAD$347 million term loan of equivalent notional value. The new facility carries the same terms, duration and extension options as the prior loan.

The CAD term loan carries a floating interest rate of Term CORRA plus 80 basis points, for an all-in rate of approximately 3.1% as of March 30, 2026. The credit agreement amendment also improved the company's revolver pricing grid by 5 basis points across all levels.

Executive Commentary and Outlook

Jason Fox, Chief Executive Officer of W. P. Carey, commented on the company's positioning: "We entered the year with significant momentum, supported by a robust pipeline and a well-capitalized balance sheet, which has been further strengthened by our recent capital markets activity. Given the deals we've closed to date, capital projects scheduled to deliver in 2026 and current strength of our pipeline, I'm pleased to say we're tracking well ahead of our initial target investment pace for the year. This, in combination with ample liquidity — including capital we've already locked in at attractive pricing — and compelling rent growth, sees us well positioned to deliver another year of highly attractive AFFO growth."

The company maintains offices in New York, London, Amsterdam and Dallas, and focuses primarily on single-tenant industrial, warehouse and retail properties in the U.S. and Europe under long-term net leases with built-in rent escalations.

Sources

W. P. Carey Inc. — Business Update Press Release, March 31, 2026