Ms. P. Jane Gavan reports

DREAM GLOBAL ANNOUNCES FOURTH QUARTER RESULTS, 24% ANNUAL NET ASSET VALUE GROWTH AND OVER 6% FOURTH QUARTER COMPARATIVE NOI GROWTH

Dream Global Real Estate Investment Trust has released its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2018. Dream Global REIT's management team will be holding a conference call Feb. 22, 2019, at 8 a.m. EDT.

Highlights:

• Portfolio fair value increases by 172 million euros in the fourth quarter:
  • Fair value of the portfolio increased by 172 million euros ($270-million) in fourth quarter 2018 based on independent third party appraisals performed for the entire portfolio. The increase is attributable to capitalization rate compression, comparative occupancy and net operating income (NOI) growth in both the German and the Dutch properties, as well as market rent growth in the trust's German portfolio.
  • Net asset value per unit was $14.97 as at Dec. 31, 2018, compared with $12.10 in the prior year and $13.45 at Sept. 30, 2018, an increase of 24 per cent and 11 per cent, respectively. Excluding deferred income taxes and derivative financial instruments, EPRA NAV per unit was $16.05 as at Dec. 31, 2018, compared with $12.70 in the prior year, and $14.24 at Sept. 30, 2018, an increase of 26 per cent and 13 per cent, respectively.
• Strong operating performance with 6.6-per-cent comparative property NOI growth:
  • Comparative property net operating income (CP NOI) increased by 6.6 per cent year over year from fourth quarter 2017, excluding termination fees and other non-recurring items, and including Dutch property CP NOI for the first time. The German, Austrian and Belgian portfolio posted 5.9-per-cent CP NOI growth, and the Dutch properties recorded 8.3-per-cent CP NOI growth.
  • In-place and committed occupancy rate increased by 210 basis points from fourth quarter 2017 in comparative properties, driven by a 3.0-per-cent increase in the Dutch portfolio and a 13.7-per-cent increase in the German value-add assets.
  • Fully diluted funds from operations (FFO) were 25.9 cents per unit in the quarter, compared with 25.3 cents per unit in third quarter 2018 and 25.2 cents per unit in fourth quarter 2017.
  • Leasing spread between in-place and market rents increased to 6.2 per cent in fourth quarter 2018 from 2.9 per cent in fourth quarter 2017 largely as a result of market rent growth in the trust's German portfolio.
  • Net rental income increased by 11.5 per cent in fourth quarter 2018 from fourth quarter 2017, reflecting both the trust's external growth initiatives and organic growth driven by occupancy gains and rental increases in the portfolio.
• Capital initiatives strengthen balance sheet:
  • Debt to gross book value, net of cash, declined to 40.9 per cent at the end of fourth quarter 2018 from 46.3 per cent at the end of 2017. Including the trust's share of joint ventures, the ratio declined to 43.3 per cent at the end of fourth quarter 2018 from 49.2 per cent at the end of 2017.
  • Liquidity increased from 100 million euros to 160 million euros, inclusive of a 50-million-euro increase to the revolving credit facility and a 9.4-million-euro accordion option on a recent property-level financing.
• Continued portfolio upgrading through capital recycling and value-add projects:
  • Dispositions totalling 82.9 million euros ($125.3-million) closed during fourth quarter, including the trust's share of proceeds on the disposition of its joint venture interest in Werfthaus, Frankfurt, Germany, for 37.2 million euros.
  • Dream Global completed 17.1 million euros ($25.7-million) of value-add and intensification projects during 2018, across Germany and Netherlands, including land intensification and repositioning of assets and common areas.

                                KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS        
                                                                    Three months ended
                                                            Dec. 31,      Sept. 30,       Dec. 31, 
                                                               2018           2018           2017 
Portfolio                   
Number of properties (1)                                        228            236            274 
Gross leasable area (GLA) (in square feet) (1)           19,922,949     19,696,789     20,080,644 
Occupancy rate, including committed (excluding 
redevelopment assets) (1)                                      91.4%          90.8%          88.1% 
Average in-place net rent per square foot 
(period-end) (in euros) (1)                                   11.23          11.17          10.78 
Market rents above in-place net rents (1)                       6.2%           5.1%           2.9% 
Operating results in euros                    
Net operating income (3) (2)                                 47,820         46,013         43,709 
Operating results in $                    
Net operating income (3) (2)                               $ 72,102       $ 69,949       $ 65,440 
Net rental income                                            65,521         63,117         58,789 
Funds from operations (FFO) (3)                              50,495         49,271         45,139 
Cash generated from operating activities                     47,374         28,994         44,024 
Adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) (3)                    46,151         45,292         43,215 
Average exchange rate (Canadian dollars to one euro)          1.508          1.520          1.498 
Distributions                    
Declared distributions                                     $ 38,481       $ 38,379       $ 35,263 
Distribution reinvestment and unit purchase plan (DRIP)
participation ratio (for the period)                             18%            16%            19% 
Per-unit amounts (4)                      
Net asset value                                             $ 14.97        $ 13.45        $ 12.10 
Distribution                                                   0.20           0.20           0.20 
Basic FFO                                                      0.26           0.26           0.26 
Basic AFFO                                                     0.24           0.24           0.24 
Diluted FFO                                                    0.26           0.25           0.25 
Financing (excluding trust's proportionate share of 
properties held through joint ventures and associates) 
Weighted-average face rate of interest on debt 
(period-end)                                                   1.64%          1.64%          1.64% 
Interest coverage ratio (3)                               5.0 times      5.0 times      4.5 times 
Debt to gross book value, net of cash (3)                      40.9%          41.9%          46.3% 
Debt average term to maturity (years) (3) (5)                   4.9            4.9            5.6 
Financing (including trust's proportionate share of 
properties held through joint ventures and associates)       
Debt to gross book value, net of cash (3)                      43.3%          44.7%          49.2% 

(1) Includes trust's proportionate share of properties held through joint ventures, 
but excludes properties classified as assets held for sale.   
(2) Includes trust's proportionate share of properties held through joint ventures.  
(3) Net operating income, FFO, AFFO, interest coverage ratio, debt to gross book 
value, net of cash, and net asset value are non-generally accepted accounting 
principle measures used by management in evaluating operating performance.
(4) A description of the determination of basic and diluted amounts per unit can be 
found in the section "non-GAAP measure and other disclosures" under the heading
"weighted average number of units" of the latest management's discussion and 
analysis of the trust.                                             
(5) This metric excludes amounts outstanding under the revolving credit facility.  

Growth initiatives

Value-add projects: During 2018, the trust completed six value-add projects totalling 17.1 million euros. In addition, the trust is currently pursuing a number of value-add opportunities across its portfolio offering strong returns on capital, with a combined investment volume of up to 60 million euros over the next two years:

• Hildesheim, Germany: In fourth quarter 2018, the trust completed the intensification of excess land on a former Deutsche Post property with a 98-room hotel leased to B&B Hotels for a term of 20 years. Construction costs were approximately 5.7 million euros. The project will contribute 370,000 euros to NOI, translating to a yield on cost of 6.5 per cent. Based on an independent appraisal of the property before and after the project, the unlevered internal rate of return (IRR) on the project exceeded 20 per cent.
• Millerntorplatz, Hamburg, Germany: In fourth quarter 2018, the trust completed its repositioning project for Millerntorplatz. The property was acquired in early 2015 for a purchase price of 95.7 million euros with an occupancy rate of 88 per cent. The trust executed a repositioning project with a capital investment of 11.0 million euros over the past two years, including creation of additional retail space, common area upgrades, HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) modernization and leasing of office space. As a result of these initiatives, the NOI of the property is expected to exceed NOI at the time of acquisition by over 1.4 million euros, the current occupancy rate is 97 per cent and the weighted-average lease term exceeds seven years. Based on an independent appraisal as of Dec. 31, 2018, the unlevered IRR on the property exceeded 14 per cent.
• Boutique & Smart Offices, the Netherlands: In 2018, common are upgrades to the Boutique Office concept were completed for four properties in the Netherlands, with an additional two properties currently undergoing conversion. These six properties have a total gross leasable area of 480,000 square feet and are currently 52 per cent occupied. The trust expects to achieve strong occupancy growth from these assets in 2019 as a result of the upgrades. In addition, the trust's flexible office offering in the Netherlands, Smart Office, has experienced strong growth over the past 12 months with the creation of 12 new locations in 2018 for a total of 27 locations currently in operation with a combined GLA of 222,700 square feet. On a same-store basis, Smart Offices recorded over 37-per-cent rental income growth from fourth quarter 2017. The trust expects that the continued demand for flexible office space in the Dutch market will contribute to its organic growth in 2019.
• Additional value-add initiatives: The trust is currently pursuing a number of additional value-add initiatives across its portfolio with a total expected capital investment volume over the next 24 months of up to 60 million euros. These initiatives include intensification and rezoning opportunities in the trust's redevelopment portfolio, investments in solar panels and the creation of new Boutique Offices in the Netherlands. The largest projects the trust expects to undertake over the next 24 months are the refurbishment and redevelopment of Handwerkstrasse in Stuttgart, Germany, as well as the repositioning and potential intensification of Atoomweg in Utrecht, the Netherlands. The trust is currently in varying stages of planning for these projects, both of which were acquired in 2018.

"Through thoughtful capital allocation and active asset management, the REIT produced solid organic growth in 2018 and set the foundation going forward," said Jane Gavan, chief executive officer of Dream Global. "We believe that our asset quality, attention to customer experience and the good office fundamentals in our markets will continue to support that trend. Our balance sheet is strong, and our asset recycling program has been focused on owning buildings that will maintain strong occupancy through real estate and economic cycles."

Conference call details

Dream Global REIT's management team will be holding a conference call Feb. 22, 2019, at 8 a.m. EDT. To access the conference call, please dial 1-888-465-5079 in Canada and the United States or 416-216-4169 elsewhere, and use passcode 9227230 followed by the number sign. A taped replay of the call will be available for 90 days. For access details, please go to Dream Global REIT's website and click on the news and events link, then click on calendar of events.

Information appearing in this news release is a select summary of results. The financial statements and management's discussion and analysis for the trust are available at the Dream Global website and on SEDAR.

Dream Global REIT is a real estate investment trust that provides investors with the opportunity to invest in commercial real estate exclusively outside of Canada. Dream Global REIT's portfolio currently consists of approximately 19.9 million square feet of gross leasable area of office, industrial and mixed-use properties across Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Belgium.

We seek Safe Harbor.