Founder Robert Beck provided an update with how the company’s holdings have performed YTD as well as throughout the entire pandemic. “We are seeing much stronger results than we had originally anticipated, especially on the retail side. When the pandemic first began and all these businesses and restaurants were shutting down, we anticipated that we may need to prepare for some tenants not being able to make monthly payments.” He later went on to say that the company had far fewer tenants need relief than they had anticipated. “We were surprised at how well our centers continued to perform all throughout the pandemic. We had a few tenants reach out and need some assistance, which we were happy to provide, but overall, our retails centers performed exceptionally well.”
He later went on to say, “It shows just how well our tenants are at adapting and adjusting to challenging situations to keep their businesses operating, especially all of our small business tenants. We really could not be more impressed with how they adapted to the challenges the pandemic presented. We think it is great not only for them to have been able to continue operating, but for all of their customers as well.”
When asked about how this will affect the company’s future retail acquisitions, Austin Beck stated “It certainly has a big impact on how we view retail properties. When you’re looking at a shopping center deal, now you want to see things like one or even two drive-thru’s, and you want to know that there is a strong customer base nearby the property. You don’t want to own a property where the tenants’ customers must drive a while to get there because then convenience becomes a problem. If it isn’t convenient for the customers, they will likely just order the products or services online if they are able to, and that is detrimental to the tenants.” He later when on to say that they have made updates to their investment checklists and that they will be much stricter about the types of retail properties they acquire.
Overall, the company has performed very well throughout the pandemic and continues to seek new acquisitions in both its own market and new markets. For anyone interested in investing in commercial real estate, please contact their offices at (859)-371-3700 to learn more.