MONTREAL, May 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- (TSX-V: FRO.UN) Fronsac Real Estate Investment Trust (“Fronsac” or “the Trust”) today provided an update on the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic on its business.

"Our team has worked relentlessly to prioritize the health and safety of our employees, tenants and our business. We continue to hold discussions with our tenants and business partners to ensure operations can continue in light of current circumstances,” said Jason Parravano, President and CEO.

Fronsac’s Portfolio
Fronsac’s portfolio is mostly comprised of retailers who provide essential services, such as service stations, quick service restaurants, grocery stores and pharmacies. As of today, the Trust’s portfolio is comprised of 62 properties with just over 100 tenants. Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, our tenants have remained open to continue to provide these essential services to the communities in which they operate, with some exceptions. Depending on the type of tenant, some have experienced increased traffic, while others have been more susceptible to the governments stay at home initiatives.

April & May Rent Collections
We have entered into rent deferral arrangements with certain tenants whose businesses have been impacted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Deferral requests are being handled on a case-by-case basis.

For the month of April, Fronsac collected 84% of its gross rents and entered into deferral agreements for 13% of gross rents for a total of 97%, on a consolidated basis.

For the month of May, Fronsac collected 87% of its gross rents and entered into deferral agreements for 10% of gross rents for a total of 97%, on a consolidated basis.

As of today, based on our gross leasable area, approximately 97% of our tenants are open or partially open. In the event of the latter, those tenants are serving customers through takeout and/or delivery.

Financial Position & Distribution
Fronsac benefits from a solid financial position following the $18M public offering of February 2020. The Trust has sufficient liquidity, including cash on hand and undrawn credit facilities, to meet its current obligations, working capital requirements and distributions.  As of today, Fronsac has approximately $10 million of cash and availability on its credit facilities. The Trust was proactive in Q1, having already completed the refinancing of its long-term mortgage maturities due in 2020 with the exception of one. This mortgage is expected to be refinanced in due course.

Government Support Programs
On April 24th, the Federal government announced the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) program. This program is targeted towards small businesses. Fronsac is monitoring the guidelines as details of the plan continue to evolve and be shared with the public. For a portion of rents not collected, there is the possibility that these tenants will fall under the umbrella of the CECRA program.

Virtual Annual Meeting
Fronsac’s 2020 annual meeting of unitholders will be held on Friday, May 22, 2020 at 11:00 am (EST).  Fronsac believes the safest way to participate in the meeting is remotely and, as such, has decided to hold the meeting virtually via live audio webcast. This will help ensure the well-being of stakeholders, while still enabling participation by unitholders in the meeting.  Further information about the virtual meeting is provided in Fronsac’s management information circular for the meeting on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on Fronsac's website at www.fronsacreit.com. All unitholders are encouraged to attend.

About Fronsac - Fronsac Real Estate Investment Trust is an open-ended trust that acquires and owns high quality triple net and management-free commercial real estate properties.

Forward-Looking Statements - This press release contains forward-looking statements and information as defined by applicable securities laws. Fronsac warns the reader that actual events may differ materially from current expectations due to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results anticipated in such statements. Among these include the risks related to economic conditions, the risks associated with the local real estate market, the dependence to the financial condition of tenants, the uncertainties related to real estate activities, the changes in interest rates, the availability of financing in the form of debt or equity, the effects related to the adoption of new standards, as well as other risks and factors described from time to time in the documents filed by Fronsac with securities regulators, including the management report. Fronsac does not intend or undertake to update or modify its forward-looking statements even if future events occur or for any other reason, unless required by law or any regulatory authority.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange Inc. nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the Policy of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts any responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For further information please contact Jason Parravano at (450) 536-5328.