Blackstone said it's creating a new entity from its companies focused on owning and investing in office and retail properties to increase financial performance and offer engagement to win tenants and customers as demand for experiences and amenities increases.
The new company, called Perform Properties, is a combination of mall owner ShopCore Properties, Retail Opportunity Investments Corp. and EQ Office, each a Blackstone portfolio company. Perform said its combined portfolio contains 33 million square feet across the United States.
Blackstone bills itself as the world's largest owner of commercial real estate.
The restructuring comes as workers return to the office and seek more amenities and experiences at their offices. The retail industry has been one of the leading sectors to embrace an experiential model, and Perform said it will leverage "the combined experience, scale, and operational strengths" of the three companies.
This will enable Perform to create more engaging experiences for customers and drive stronger performance throughout its portfolio, the company said.
"In a market where people have more choices than ever, the properties that succeed are those that perform — for tenants, customers, investors, and communities," Perform CEO Alex Vouvalides said in a statement. "At Perform, we are committed to providing high-functioning, high-impact spaces designed to meet the evolving needs of businesses, their customers, and employees — delivering places where people want to be."
In December, CoStar News reported that ShopCore CEO Marc Ricks left the company and that Vouvalides would be CEO of both ShopCore and EQ as they merged. Ricks said then that Blackstone would create a "diversified real estate operating platform focused on both retail and office assets." The result was this week's launch of Perform.
The move also comes a few months after Blackstone said it completed its acquisition of all outstanding common shares of Retail Opportunity Investments Corp. in an all-cash transaction valued at about $4 billion, including outstanding debt.
The Perform Properties portfolio contains more than 175 properties, with 155 retail locations and 20 office properties across 36 markets, according to the group's website.
That includes 19 million square feet of open-air retail centers, including Bakers Centre in Philadelphia and Magnolia Shopping Center in Santa Barbara, California, according to the site and CoStar data. On the office side, Perform's portfolio contains the iconic Willis Tower in Chicago and 211 Main St. in San Francisco, California.