Just five years ago, we tracked only 10 locally based public real estate investment trusts, and since then, the Washington Business Journal List has doubled to 21.
This year alone, we’ve added three new public REITs:
Park Hotels & Resorts Inc.(NYSE: PK), which spun off from Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. this January; Hospitality Investors Trust Inc.(public but not traded), which changed its name from American Realty Capital Hospitality Trust Inc. upon receiving the first part of a $400 million investment from Brookfield Asset Management Inc. this March; Quality Care Properties Inc.(NYSE: QCP), which spun off from HCP Inc. in October.
The reason for this growth is simple: Until very recently, spinning off a REIT was a strategic method of shedding debt, creating new value for shareholders and saving a lot of money on future taxes — all in one fell swoop. Any company holding enough real estate could spin off those assets, tax-free, into a corporation, and then elect REIT status, which…Read the full story from the Washington Business Journal.
The post D.C. region has dramatically grown its number of REITs — but that could change appeared first on WTOP.
