- Sprott Shaw College and Sprott Shaw Language College have seen a steady increase in registrations and enrollments for the fall 2021 and spring 2022 semesters
- EMC received rezoning approval on February 21st, 2021 Development and building permit applications are pending
- The construction of GEC® King Edward is expected to be completed by the summer of 2022
- The occupancy rate at most GEC® locations has reached 90 to 100 per cent since the gradual re-opening of Canada’s borders
- Global Holdings is in discussion with prospective partners to explore the opportunity to acquire ownership in a substantial project in Metro Vancouver
- CIBT is one of Canada’s largest education services and academic real estate companies
- CIBT Education Group Inc. (MBA) are up 4.62 per cent, trading at C$0.68 per share at 10:24 am ET
CIBT Education Group (MBA) has provided the following updates on its portfolio of academic assets and real estate investments.
Overview of CIBT’s academic assets:
- College enrollments: Sprott Shaw College and Sprott Shaw Language College have seen a steady increase in registrations and enrollments for the fall 2021 and spring 2022 semesters as Canada re-opens its borders for international students. Most domestic students are also returning to campus across the province, contributing a steady volume of rental tenants to GEC® rental properties.
- GEC Education Mega Center® (EMC): EMC received rezoning approval on February 21st, 2021. The Company’s subsidiary, Global Education City Holdings Inc. (“Global Holdings”), will be submitting the development and building permit applications in the coming weeks. The design and technical drawings are nearly complete and will be ready for submission shortly. The total construction budget, including land cost, is $300 million.
- GEC® King Edward: The construction of GEC® King Edward started in January 2021. The Company expects construction to be completed by the summer of 2022, in time for the fall 2022 school semester, adding 180 beds and 46,000 gross buildable square feet to the portfolio. The total construction budget, including land cost, is $44 million.
- Other operational GEC® properties: Since the gradual re-opening of the economy and Canada’s borders, the occupancy rate has reached 90% to 100% at most GEC® locations. Additionally, rental rates have returned to their February 2020 pre-COVID levels at most properties.
- CBRE sales transaction: Since the marketing launch on May 25th, 2021(2), Global Holdings has processed 31 potential buyer due-diligence requests and has received ten written offers to purchase a portion of or the entire portfolio of the GEC® branded operational properties offered for sale. These offers range from the purchase of one hotel to all of the offered GEC® branded rental apartments and five parcels of land at the rezoning phase. Global Holdings has accepted one offer for the purchase of two buildings and continues to negotiate the valuation of four other buildings and five parcels of land.
- New projects under review: A proposal to purchase a parcel of land on the Cambie Street corridor submitted by Global Holdings is pending the seller’s acceptance. In addition, Global Holdings is in discussion with prospective partners to explore the opportunity to acquire ownership in a substantial project in Metro Vancouver, B.C. Negotiations on these initiatives are underway and will continue in the coming weeks.
Toby Chu, Chairman and CEO of CIBT Education Group Inc. commented,
“A recent news article on the Dailyhive online news source described a massive development plan for the Marine Gateway area in Vancouver located across the street from the GEC® Marine Gateway site that was purchased in October 2020. This latest proposed expansion in the Marine Gateway area will add more value and popularity to a high-demand neighbourhood.
As part of Global Holdings’ strategic plans, at least three other GEC® properties are located within one city block from other major developments in Metro Vancouver, including the following:
- GEC® Oakridge will be located across from the Oakridge development project dubbed as the largest development in Vancouver’s history
- Global Education City® (Richmond) will be located across the street from the proposed Lansdowne Mall development of 10,000 new homes
- GEC Education Mega Center® will be located across the street from the proposed massive SFU expansion and office towers development at the Central Business District of Surrey, B.C.
Our fiscal 2022 target is to monetize 0.27 million square feet of our operating properties, continue to develop and construct 1.14 million square feet including the Education Mega Center® in Surrey, and potentially replenish our inventory with approximately 1.1 million square feet of new properties. The expansion of our real estate portfolio remains a primary objective for us as we look to accelerate the growth of CIBT moving forward.”
CIBT is one of Canada’s largest education services and academic real estate companies.
CIBT Education Group Inc. (MBA) are up 4.62 per cent, trading at C$0.68 per share at 10:24 am ET.
