An Auto Lenders dealership location — Courtesy: CBRE
By Joshua Burd
An automotive group has completed a $55 million sale-leaseback involving a series of dealerships and other buildings in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, in a deal arranged by CBRE.
The real estate services firm represented the seller, Auto Lenders, in the transaction with the Manhattan-based investment firm W.P. Carey. According to a news release, the 10-property portfolio spans the dealer’s entire corporately owned operating footprint, including seven auto dealerships, a centralized vehicle conditioning center and two office facilities totaling 170,000 square feet.
CBRE’s Thomas Finnegan, Matthew Gorman and Michael Shover completed the deal.
“We were able to generate tremendous institutional interest in the Auto Lenders’ portfolio,” Finnegan said. “Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, one-owner, off-lease vehicles like those offered by Auto Lenders have seen a major boom in demand. As a result, the portfolio offered a rare blend of high-quality real estate, tied to a proven operator of (30-plus) years, that not only survived the latest economic downturn, but continued to thrive.”
Gorman added: “Successfully executing on a complicated corporate sale-leaseback transaction on behalf of our client, especially during these different and difficult times, is an outstanding result.”
According to CBRE, the portfolio includes Auto Lenders locations in Princeton, Lakewood, Toms River, Voorhees, Egg Harbor Township, Williamstown and Exton, Pennsylvania, along with corporate offices in Berlin and CAL Automotive in Yardville.
“Fifteen-plus years of tracking, understanding and helping our client’s navigate current and future market changes has been a cornerstone of our team’s value proposition and expertise,” Shover said.
