Mr. Mitchell Goldhar reports

SMARTCENTRES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST CLOSES $300 MILLION SERIES Z SENIOR UNSECURED DEBENTURE ISSUE

SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust has closed its previously announced private placement of $300-million aggregate principal amount of 5.354 per cent Series Z senior unsecured debentures. The Series Z debentures will mature on May 29, 2028. The debentures were offered on an agency basis by a syndicate of agents led by Scotia Capital and CIBC Capital Markets as joint active book runners, with Desjardins Securities, RBC Capital Markets and TD Securities as joint book runners, and BMO Capital Markets, National Bank Financial, Mizuho Securities, HSBC Securities (Canada), Canaccord Genuity, Casgrain and iA Private Wealth as co-managers. DBRS Morningstar has provided SmartCentres with a credit rating of BBB with a stable trend relating to the debentures.

The net proceeds to SmartCentres from the sale of the Series Z debentures will be used to refinance existing debt, including the repayment of its $200-million Series I senior unsecured debentures due May 30, 2023, and for general corporate purposes.

About SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust

SmartCentres is one of Canada's largest fully integrated REITs, with a best-in-class portfolio featuring 188 strategically located properties in communities across the country. SmartCentres has approximately $11.7-billion in assets and owns 34.8 million square feet of income-producing value-oriented retail and first-class office space with 98.0-per-cent in-place and committed occupancy, on 3,500 acres of owned land across Canada.

SmartCentres continues to focus on enhancing the lives of Canadians by planning and developing complete, connected, mixed-use communities on its existing retail properties. The publicly announced $16-billion intensification program ($10.8-billion at SmartCentres' share) represents the REIT's current major development focus, on which construction is expected to commence within the next five years. This intensification program consists of rental apartments, condos, seniors' residences and hotels, to be developed under the SmartLiving banner, and retail, office and storage facilities, to be developed under the SmartCentres banner.

We seek Safe Harbor.