DBRS Upgrades Place Laurier to A (high) with a Stable Trend

DBRS has today upgraded the 10.55% Secured Debentures, Series A and the 7.37% Secured Debentures, Series D (collectively, the Secured Debentures) of Place Laurier (the Shopping Centre) to A (high), with a Stable trend, from A (low). The upgrade reflects the strong operating fundamentals for the Shopping Centre in addition to the very low leverage and DBRS’s strong outlook for the asset through the remaining term of the Secured Debentures.

Place Laurier has a prominent position within Québec City and is well located near the downtown area with good access. The three anchor tenants account for approximately 40% of the total retail area at the property and have leases that expire between 2017 and 2022, at least three years past maturity. Place Laurier enjoys significantly higher debt service coverage than the bulk of comparable shopping centres rated by DBRS. For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010, debt service coverage was 3.55 times. The high level of coverage partially reflects the relatively small amount of debt secured against the Shopping Centre. Place Laurier also has an excellent loan-to-value with only $61.5 million of debt outstanding secured against the Shopping Centre.

Notes:
All figures are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.

The applicable methodologies are Rating Real Estate Entities, which can be found on our website under Methodologies.