Blackstone Real Estate, already a significant player in Canada with assets totaling 14 billion Canadian dollars, has hired a new leader to oversee its real estate investments in the country.
The New York City-based company said it was establishing an office in Toronto and appointed Janice Lin as head of its real estate business in Canada that includes 450 properties with a heavy focus on logistics.
Blackstone Real Estate plans to continue to invest across all asset classes in Canada, with a focus on its long-term presence in the country, the company said in a statement.
"We are long-term believers in the strength of the Canadian economy, and we look forward to leveraging her expertise and on-the-ground views to help us expand our presence in the Canadian real estate market," said Nadeem Meghji, Blackstone's head of real estate for the Americas, in a statement.
Details about the location of the Toronto office were not disclosed and Blackstone did not respond to inquiries for more information.
Jonathan Gray, president and chief operating officer of Blackstone Group, told a Toronto conference in December that the investment manager was looking to deploy more capital in Canada.
Blackstone's move into the Canadian industrial market began in 2018 with a $3.8 billion deal to purchase publicly traded Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust. The company is now private, operating under the name Pure Industrial, and Ivanhoé Cambridge owns a 38% stake with Blackstone holding the remaining 62%.
Pure Industrial just closed on a major expansion of its holdings, acquiring the industrial properties of Quebec City-based REIT Cominar as part of a $5.7 billion deal.
Before joining Blackstone, Lin served as chief investment officer at Revera, an owner of retirement living operators with properties throughout Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, since June 2020. Before that, she was at the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for more than a decade, having held several senior positions at the country's largest pension fund.
"Blackstone’s long-term investment approach has enabled it to build a growing logistics, office, and residential footprint across Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver," Lin said in a statement. "Canada's population growth is the highest among G7 nations and is nearly double that of the U.S., and I believe that will continue to create exciting opportunities in the market."
Blackstone’s portfolio of companies employ more than 3,550 workers in Canada, according to the statement.
