Brixmor Property Group Inc. (NYSE:BRX) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Brian Finnegan: Yes, Floris, I would just add, again, we’re now three consecutive years of normal course move outs being at historic lows. Our team addressed the 2023 bankruptcies very quickly with better tenants at higher rents, compelling accretive returns. So we’re making those upgrades for the spaces that we do get back. And I think as Jim highlighted, we’re growing build occupancy despite taking some of that space back. So we’re actually pretty pleased with how that pipeline continues to grow. It’s a good look through in terms of the overall leasing environment. It’s good look through in terms of our team’s ability to capitalize on it.

Floris van Dijkum: Great. Maybe my follow-up here is in terms of ABR, I mean remind us, Jim, when you started at Brixmor, what was your average ABR? What has been the growth in that ABR since your tenure and clearly, I mean, obviously, with the outlook on because part of that is I think is oftentimes viewed as a reflection of portfolio quality. What’s the spread been relative to your peers when you started in terms of ABR? And where do you see that heading over the next couple of years?

Jim Taylor: Really appreciate the question. So when we started, it was in the $12 range. And today, it’s approaching $17, but if you look also at the marginal rate at which we’re signing, it’s in the low 20s. So we’re really marching very steadily to a pretty compelling average ABR that speaks to not only the quality of the centers, but also the demand of tenants to be in our centers. So thank you for highlighting that. It’s a trend and a track record that we’re very proud of.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Haendel St. Juste with Mizuho.

Haendel St. Juste: So first question, on redevelopment, just to go back to your pipeline here. You’re up to about $430 million, which I think is up about 30% from this time last year. So my question is, how large would you like to grow that to and what’s the limiting factor in near term, is it the funding? Is it perhaps lower yields or potentially returns not meeting your expectations? And then, what proportion of that pipeline over time would you like to have in form of mixed-use densification versus traditional repositioning? Thanks.

Jim Taylor: We’re going to remain disciplined, as we always have, on retail projects that really benefit from a really nice velocity where you’re not committing any significant capital until you’ve got your leases signed and in place. And in terms of pace and velocity, we’re going to continue to be between that $150 million to $200 million of annual spend in delivery, albeit this year, we do expect to deliver closer to $200 million. And what that pipeline shows you, Haendel, is visibility on a couple of years of forward growth. So I think we’re at a good level. I think it’s balanced in terms of outparcels, redevelopments, anchor repositionings. And again, we’re really benefited by the velocity with which that income delivers.

Haendel St. Juste: Great. Appreciate that. And a follow-up, can you talk a little bit more about the 100 basis points of tenant disruptions embedded in your top line and put that maybe into context versus more normal years where you have more non-renewals in churn, maybe comparing that to ’23 actuals and what you would actually do in a more normal year? Thank you.

Brian Finnegan: When you think about outside of the bankruptcy period. We normally are building our budget from ground up, starting at individual tenants and have very specific assumptions as to who we expect to renew and ultimately move out. Over the last couple of years, with some of the bankruptcy activity, we have embedded an expectation within that line. I think when you look at the 100 basis points this year as compared to what we would have seen through last year, I think, it was a little bit higher in 2023 and we’ll ultimately see how it plays out in 2024.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Anthony Powell with Barclays.

Anthony Powell: Just a question on renewal lease spreads. You guys are at record occupancy, both on the [indiscernible] shop side, things are going well in the industry. At what point do you think you’ll have more pricing power to drive those renewal lease spreads from the 30% range to something higher, kind of given what we’re seeing across the industry?