CIBT Provides Update on its Portfolio of Academic Assets and Real Estate Investments

Beth McCandry

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / September 9, 2021 / CIBT Education Group Inc. (TSX: MBA) (OTCQX: MBAIF) (“CIBT” or the “society“) is pleased to provide the following updates on its portfolio of academic assets and real estate investments.

Overview of CIBT’s portfolio of academic assets:

  • College Enrollments: Sprott Shaw College and Sprott Shaw Language College have seen a steady increase in enrollments and enrollments for the fall semesters 2021 and spring 2022 as Canada reopens its borders to international students. Most local students also return to campus across the province, contributing to a constant volume of rental tenants on GEC® rentals.

  • GEC Education Mega Center® (“EMC”): EMC received rededication approval on February 21, 2021 (1). The company’s subsidiary, Global Education City Holdings Inc. (“Global holdings“), will be submitting applications for development and building permits in the coming weeks. The design and engineering drawings are almost ready and ready to be submitted shortly. The total budget for construction, including land costs, is $ 300 million.

  • GEC® King Edward: Construction of GEC® King Edward began in January 2021. The company expects the construction work to be completed by summer 2022, in time for the fall semester 2022, and the portfolio to be expanded by 180 beds and 46,000 square meters of gross buildable area. The total construction budget, including the land cost, is $ 44 million.

  • Other GEC® operational properties: Since the gradual reopening of the economy and Canada’s borders, occupancy has reached 90 to 100% at most GEC® locations. In addition, rental prices in most properties have returned to pre-COVID February 2020 levels.

  • CBRE sale transaction: Since launch on May 25, 2021 (2), Global Holdings has processed 31 due diligence inquiries from potential buyers and received ten written offers to purchase part or all of the GEC® branded commercial real estate offered for sale. These range from the purchase of a hotel to all of the GEC® brand rental apartments on offer to five plots in the rededication phase. Global Holdings has accepted an offer to purchase two buildings and is still negotiating the valuation of four additional buildings and five lots.

  • New projects under review: An offer to purchase property in the Cambie Street Corridor submitted by Global Holdings is pending acceptance by the seller. In addition, Global Holdings is in discussion with potential partners to evaluate the possibility of acquiring ownership of an extensive project in Metro Vancouver, BC. Negotiations on these initiatives are ongoing and will continue in the coming weeks.

Toby Chu, Chairman and CEO of CIBT Education Group Inc. commented, “A recent news article on the online news source Dailyhive described a massive development plan for the Marine Gateway area in Vancouver, across from the purchased GEC® Marine Gateway property is located. ” in October 2020. This latest planned expansion in the Marine Gateway area will add value and popularity to a high-demand neighborhood. News link: https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/marine-gateway-2-pci-developments-8530 -cambie-street-vancouver

The story goes on

“As part of Global Holdings’ strategic plans, at least three other GEC® properties are within a city block of other major developments in Metro Vancouver, including the following:

Our goal for fiscal year 2022 is to monetize 0.27 million square feet of our operational real estate, continue development and construction of 1.14 million square feet including the Education Mega Center® in Surrey, and potentially our inventory at approximately 1.1 million square feet to replenish new properties. The expansion of our real estate portfolio remains a priority goal for us in order to accelerate the growth of CIBT in the future. “

1: https://cibt.net/blog/2021/02/23/cibts-gec-education-mega-center-receives-city-council-approval-at-third-public-hearings/
2: https://cibt.net/blog/2021/05/25/cbre-commences-marketing-launch-to-monetize-a-portion-of-cibts-real-estate-portfolio/

About the CIBT educational group:

CIBT is one of Canada’s largest education services and academic real estate companies. CIBT has had a global presence since 1994 and employs almost 600 people in 45 locations and operates a global network of 2,500 recruiters. In 2020, the group provided education, student recruitment, and housing services to over 11,000 students. Its real estate portfolio, including business assets and development budget, exceeds $ 1.5 billion.

CIBT’s educational subsidiaries include Sprott Shaw College (founded 1903), Sprott Shaw Language College, Vancouver International College Career Campus, CIBT School of Business, and the Global Education Alliance. These subsidiaries offer over 150 accredited education programs in the fields of healthcare, business, e-commerce, cybersecurity, hotel management, language training, and recruitment in 29 locations in Canada and abroad.

The real estate subsidiary of CIBT, Global Education City Holdings Inc. (“Global holdings“), develops and manages academic assets such as student-centric rental housing, corporate housing, hotels and educational supercentres. As of 2015, Global Holdings has been providing B2B accommodation services to 90 schools in Metro Vancouver and B2C direct registration of 6,000 students from 71 countries. The portfolio of the GEC® brand includes 10 projects, 15 buildings covering nearly 1.5 million square feet, including operating, construction and development land.

CIBT also owns the Irix Design Group Inc. (“Irix design“). Irix Design is a leading design and advertising company serving over a hundred corporate clients, including CIBT. Visit us online at www.cibt.net.

Toby Chu

Chairman, President & CEO
CIBT Education Group Inc.

Investor Relations Contact: 1-604-871-9909 ext. 319 or | E-mail: [email protected]

FORWARDING STATEMENTS

Certain statements in this press release contain forward-looking information (the “forward-looking statements“) about CIBT and its plans. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, without limitation, the statement that development and building permits for the Education Mega Center® will be submitted in the weeks ahead that the Construction of GEC® King Edward is expected to be completed in the summer of 2022 and that the goal for fiscal year 2022 is to monetize 0.27 million square feet of operational land, development and construction of 1.14 million square feet including the Education Mega Center® in Surrey and has the potential to add approximately 1.1 million square feet of new land. Forward-looking statements are subject to various risks, uncertainties, and other factors (common are the “Risks“) that could cause CIBT’s actual results or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied in forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the company’s ability to conduct sales transactions relating to current GEC® locations negotiate and finalize the Company’s ability to identify and acquire land for new GEC® locations and finance the acquisition and construction costs of those new locations, the Company’s ability to obtain all necessary municipal permits in a timely manner, and the usual Construction risks, opinions and expectations of CIBT management at the time of publication and CIBT assumes no obligation to update its forward-looking statements if such beliefs, opinions or expectations or other circumstances change, unless otherwise required by law ben. When CIBT updates any forward-looking statements, it should not be concluded that it would require additional updates relating to these or any other forward-looking statements.

SOURCE: CIBT Education Group Inc.

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