Northmarq, one of commercial real estate’s leading investment sales brokerage firms, has completed the sale leaseback of a five-location portfolio occupied by Little Caesars. The single-tenant retail properties are located across Nebraska and North Carolina. Matt Lipson and Chris Lomuto of Northmarq represented the seller, a California-based franchisee. The assets traded for approximately $5.7 million to a REIT based in Florida.
“This transaction was a perfect example of how a franchisee can leverage real estate to complete an acquisition. The incoming franchisee was acquiring these fee properties, along with a portfolio of leased properties from an existing Little Caesars franchisee,” said Lipson, Associate Director in Northmarq’s Portland, Oregon office. “We were able to structure a sale leaseback on the five fee properties at attractive terms to both real estate buyer and franchisee, that closed concurrently with their business acquisition. Post-transaction, the franchisee now has a sizable entity, with attractive leases throughout, and no pesky loan contingencies.”
Little Caesars is the third largest pizza chain in the world with more than 4,000 locations in the United States. The combined properties total more than 15,000 square feet and are located in smaller, tertiary markets.
“This is an exciting time at Little Caesars. Unit count is growing, the network is growing, strategic advantages are being realized, and it seems like this is really just the beginning for them,” said Lomuto, Associate Director in Northmarq’s Walnut Creek, California office. “We’re excited to be part of that effort and couldn’t be happier to help our franchisee client continue to grow their business with the acquisition of these locations.”
