CIBT Reports Completion of Sale of a GEC® Project for $55.5 Million
Vancouver, B.C. August 14th, 2018 – CIBT Education Group Inc. (TSX: MBA, OTCQX International: MBAIF) (“CIBT” or the “Company”) is pleased to report that one of the real estate limited partnerships in which it holds an interest has completed the sale of one of the GEC® branded Vancouver properties (the “Property”) for a gain of approximately $20 million after an investment period of 41 months. This GEC® project was acquired by the limited partnership in February 2015 for $29.5 million. An additional $6 million was spent on a variety of value added services such as rezoning, re-design and retrofit for higher density usage and approximately $0.5 million will be spent on certain upgrades in the coming few months.
As part of the sale, a CIBT subsidiary, Global Education City Holdings Inc., signed a contract to sublease the building for five years. Another CIBT subsidiary, Global Education City Management Corp., will continue to provide its valued-added rental services to the domestic and international students residing at the Property. The Property will continue to operate under the GEC® brand and management for the five years following closing.
“CIBT Education Group is once again pleased to report the exit of another earlier investment with a substantial return to CIBT and the other limited partners,” commented Toby Chu, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. “With two successful exits now under our belt, we have built a reputation amongst our investors as being the go to source for high quality student housing investment opportunities, and the result has been a high rate of reinvestment into new GEC® projects. Going forward, our plan is to focus on managing the current GEC® portfolio, while acquiring new projects of a larger size and scale so that we can maximize efficiencies and scale our bed count at a faster rate. As an example, this project that was just sold is comprised of approximately 74,000 square feet with 210 beds. Our focus in the coming years will be the development of the Global Education City® project in Richmond and the Education Mega Center® in Surrey, which comprise over 412,000 to 550,000 square feet of space, over 1,000 to 1,200 beds per project and a total combined development budget of $570 million. While our focus will be on larger projects, we will continue to proactively evaluate and add medium size buildings to our portfolio ranging from 60,000 – 80,000 square feet within Metro Vancouver.”
About CIBT Education Group:
CIBT Education Group Inc. is one of the largest education and student housing investment companies in Canada, focused on the global education market since 1994. Listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and U.S OTCQX International, CIBT owns business and language colleges, student housing properties, recruitment centres and corporate offices at 43 locations in Canada and abroad. Total annual enrollment for the group exceeds 15,000 students. Its education providers include Sprott Shaw College (established in 1903), Sprott Shaw Language College, Vancouver International College and CIBT School of Business. Through these schools, CIBT offers business and management programs in healthcare, hotel management, language training, and over 150 career, language and vocational programs. CIBT owns Global Education City Holdings Inc., an investment holding and development company focused on developing education related real estate such as student hotels, serviced apartments and education super centres. Total portfolio and development budget of projects under the GEC® brand is more than C$1 billion. CIBT also owns Global Education Alliance (“GEA”) and Irix Design Group (“Irix Design“). GEA recruits international students on behalf of many elite kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, colleges and universities in North America. Irix Design is a leading design and advertising company based in Vancouver, Canada. Visit us online and watch our corporate video at www.cibt.net.
Toby Chu
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
CIBT Education Group Inc.
Investor Relations Contact: 1-604-871-9909 extension 318 or | Email: info@cibt.net
Forward-Looking Statements:
Some statements in this news release contain forward-looking information (the “forward-looking statements”). Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and in this news release include, without limitation, statements that investors in this project have committed their profits to be rolled into another GEC® branded project, and that new GEC® projects of a larger size and scale will be acquired resulting in efficiencies being maximized and scaling of bed count achieved. Forward-looking statements are subject to various risks, uncertainties and other factors (collectively, “Risks”) that could cause CIBT’s actual results or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by forward-looking statements. The Risks include, without limitation, that the investors will not honour their commitment to roll their profits into another GEC® branded project and that new GEC® projects of a larger size and scale will not be acquired or the expected efficiencies or scaling of bed count achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, opinions and expectations of CIBT’s management at the time they are made, and CIBT does not assume any obligation to update its forward-looking statements if those beliefs, opinions or expectations, or other circumstances should change, except as may be required by law.