The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that Allied Properties REIT reinforced its financial foundations on Tuesday by launching a $500-million equity offering to pay down debt. The Globe's Andrew Willis writes the company also announced its founder Michael Emory will depart this spring. Toronto-based Allied, one of the country's largest publicly traded office building owners, plans to sell $350-million of units to investors in a marketed offering and raise another $150-million by selling units in a private placement. Allied owes lenders $4.7-billion. In December, the REIT surprised analysts and investors by cutting its monthly distributions by 60 per cent. In 2023, Allied tried to defuse debt concerns by selling data centres in Toronto for $1.35-billion. On Tuesday, Allied chief executive officer Cecilia Williams said the company is raising money because "the return to historical occupancy levels has taken longer than expected." Allied's debt repayment strategy also includes raising $500-million from property sales by the end of 2026. So far this year, the company has reached deals on the sale of $46-million in properties. Tenants paid leases on 87.4 per cent of its rentable space at the end of December.