brx-20221231
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
Form 10-K
☑ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022
or
☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the transition period from_____ to_____
Commission File Number: 001-36160 (Brixmor Property Group Inc.)
Commission File Number: 333-256637-01 (Brixmor Operating Partnership LP)
Brixmor Property Group Inc.
Brixmor Operating Partnership LP
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
Maryland (Brixmor Property Group Inc.) 45-2433192
Delaware (Brixmor Operating Partnership LP) 80-0831163
450 Lexington Avenue, New York, New York10017
(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)
212-869-3000
(Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class Trading Symbol(s) Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share. BRX New York Stock Exchange
Securities registered pursuant to section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.
Brixmor Property Group Inc. Yes☑No ☐ Brixmor Operating Partnership LP Yes ☑No ☐
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.
Brixmor Property Group Inc. Yes ☐No☑ Brixmor Operating Partnership LP Yes ☐No☑
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.
Brixmor Property Group Inc. Yes☑No ☐ Brixmor Operating Partnership LP Yes☑No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).
Brixmor Property Group Inc. Yes☑No ☐ Brixmor Operating Partnership LP Yes☑No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer”, “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Brixmor Property Group Inc. Brixmor Operating Partnership LP
Emerging growth company ☐ Emerging growth company ☐
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. N/A
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report.
Brixmor Property Group Inc. ☑ Brixmor Operating Partnership LP ☑
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).
Brixmor Property Group Inc. Yes ☐No ☑ Brixmor Operating Partnership LP Yes ☐No ☑
State the aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates computed by reference to the price at which the common equity was last sold, or the average bid and asked price of such common equity, as of the last business day of the registrants’ most recently completed second fiscal quarter.
Brixmor Property Group Inc. $6,019,445,732 Brixmor Operating Partnership LP N/A
(APPLICABLE ONLY TO CORPORATE REGISTRANTS)
Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the registrant’s classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date.
As of February 1, 2023, Brixmor Property Group Inc. had 300,520,890 shares of common stock outstanding.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Portions of the definitive proxy statement to be filed by Brixmor Property Group Inc. with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Regulation 14A relating to the registrant’s Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held on April 26, 2023 will be incorporated by reference in this Form 10-K in response to Items 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 of Part III. The definitive proxy statement will be filed with the SEC not later than 120 days after the registrant’s fiscal year ended December 31, 2022.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
This report combines the annual reports on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2022 of Brixmor Property Group Inc. and Brixmor Operating Partnership LP. Unless stated otherwise or the context otherwise requires, references to the “Parent Company” or “BPG” mean Brixmor Property Group Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries, and references to the “Operating Partnership” mean Brixmor Operating Partnership LP and its consolidated subsidiaries. Unless the context otherwise requires, the terms “the Company,” “Brixmor,” “we,” “our,” and “us” mean the Parent Company and the Operating Partnership, collectively.
The Parent Company is a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) that owns 100% of the limited liability company interests of BPG Subsidiary LLC (“BPG Sub”), which, in turn, is the sole member of Brixmor OP GP LLC (the “General Partner”), the sole general partner of the Operating Partnership. As of December 31, 2022, the Parent Company beneficially owned, through its direct and indirect interest in BPG Sub and the General Partner, 100% of the outstanding partnership common units (the “OP Units”) in the Operating Partnership.
The Company believes combining the annual reports on Form 10-K of the Parent Company and the Operating Partnership into this single report:
•Enhances investors’ understanding of the Parent Company and the Operating Partnership by enabling investors to view the business as a whole, in the same manner as management views and operates the business;
•Eliminates duplicative disclosure and provides a more streamlined and readable presentation; and
•Creates time and cost efficiencies through the preparation of one combined report instead of two separate reports.
Management operates the Parent Company and the Operating Partnership as one business. Because the Operating Partnership is managed by the Parent Company, and the Parent Company conducts substantially all of its operations through the Operating Partnership, the Parent Company’s executive officers are the Operating Partnership’s executive officers, and although, as a partnership, the Operating Partnership does not have a board of directors, we refer to the Parent Company’s board of directors as the Operating Partnership’s board of directors.
We believe it is important to understand the few differences between the Parent Company and the Operating Partnership in the context of how the Parent Company and the Operating Partnership operate as a consolidated company. The Parent Company is a REIT, whose only material asset is its indirect interest in the Operating Partnership. As a result, the Parent Company does not conduct business itself other than issuing public equity from time to time. The Parent Company does not incur any material indebtedness. The Operating Partnership holds substantially all of our assets. Except for net proceeds from public equity issuances by the Parent Company, which are contributed to the Operating Partnership in exchange for OP Units, the Operating Partnership generates all capital required by the Company’s business. Sources of this capital include the Operating Partnership’s operations and its direct or indirect incurrence of indebtedness.
Equity, capital, and non-controlling interests are the primary areas of difference between the Consolidated Financial Statements of the Parent Company and those of the Operating Partnership. The Operating Partnership’s capital currently includes OP Units owned by the Parent Company through BPG Sub and the General Partner and has in the past, and may in the future, include OP Units owned by third parties. OP Units owned by third parties, if any, are accounted for in capital in the Operating Partnership’s financial statements and outside of equity in non-controlling interests in the Parent Company’s financial statements.
The Parent Company consolidates the Operating Partnership for financial reporting purposes, and the Parent Company does not have material assets other than its indirect interest in the Operating Partnership. Therefore, while equity, capital, and non-controlling interests may differ as discussed above, the assets and liabilities of the Parent Company and the Operating Partnership are materially the same on their respective financial statements.
In order to highlight the differences between the Parent Company and the Operating Partnership, there are sections of this report that separately discuss the Parent Company and the Operating Partnership, including separate financial statements (but combined footnotes), separate controls and procedures sections, separate certification of periodic report under Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, and separate certification pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350 as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. In the sections that combine disclosure for the Parent Company and the Operating Partnership, this report refers to actions or holdings as being actions or holdings of the Company.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Item No. Page
Part I
1. Business 1
1A. Risk Factors 8
1B. Unresolved Staff Comments 16
2. Properties 17
3. Legal Proceedings 20
4. Mine Safety Disclosures 20
Part II
6. [Reserved] 22
7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk 36
8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 37
9A. Controls and Procedures 37
9B. Other Information 39
9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections 39
Part III
10. Directors, Executive Officers, and Corporate Governance 40
11. Executive Compensation 40
13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence 40
14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services 40
Part IV
15. Exhibit and Financial Statement Schedules 41
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Forward-Looking Statements
This report may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements related to our expectations regarding the performance of our business, our financial results, our liquidity and capital resources, and other non-historical statements. You can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of words such as “outlook,” “believes,” “expects,” “potential,” “continues,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “seeks,” “projects,” “predicts,” “intends,” “plans,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” or the negative version of these words or other comparable words. Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, there are or will be important factors that could cause actual outcomes or results to differ materially from those indicated in these statements. We believe these factors include but are not limited to those described under the section entitled “Risk Factors” in this report, as such factors may be updated from time to time in our periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), which are accessible on the SEC’s website at https://www.sec.gov. These factors include (1) changes in national, regional, and local economies, due to global events such as international military conflicts, international trade disputes, a foreign debt crisis, foreign currency volatility, or due to domestic issues, such as government policies and regulations, tariffs, energy prices, market dynamics, rising interest rates, inflation, unemployment, or limited growth in consumer income or spending; (2) local real estate market conditions, including an oversupply of space in, or a reduction in demand for, properties similar to those in our Portfolio (defined hereafter); (3) competition from other available properties and e-commerce; (4) disruption and/or consolidation in the retail sector, the financial stability of our tenants, and the overall financial condition of large retailing companies, including their ability to pay rent and/or expense reimbursements that are due to us; (5) in the case of percentage rents, the sales volumes of our tenants; (6) increases in property operating expenses, including common area expenses, utilities, insurance, and real estate taxes, which are relatively inflexible and generally do not decrease if revenue or occupancy decrease; (7) increases in the costs to repair, renovate, and re-lease space; (8) earthquakes, wildfires, tornadoes, hurricanes, damage from rising sea levels due to climate change, other natural disasters, epidemics and/or pandemics, including the current pandemic of the novel coronavirus ("COVID-19"), civil unrest, terrorist acts, or acts of war, any of which may result in uninsured or underinsured losses; and (9) changes in laws and governmental regulations, including those governing usage, zoning, the environment, and taxes. These factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included in this report and in our other periodic filings. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this report, and we expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments, or otherwise, except to the extent otherwise required by law.
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PART I
Item 1. Business
Brixmor Property Group Inc. and subsidiaries (collectively, “BPG”) is an internally-managed corporation that has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust (“REIT”). Brixmor Operating Partnership LP and subsidiaries (collectively, the “Operating Partnership”) is the entity through which BPG conducts substantially all of its operations and owns substantially all of its assets. BPG owns 100% of the limited liability company interests of BPG Subsidiary LLC (“BPG Sub”), which, in turn, is the sole member of Brixmor OP GP LLC (the “General Partner”), the sole general partner of the Operating Partnership. Unless stated otherwise or the context otherwise requires, “we,” “our,” and “us” mean BPG and the Operating Partnership, collectively. We own and operate one of the largest publicly-traded open-air retail portfolios by gross leasable area (“GLA”) in the United States (“U.S.”), comprised primarily of community and neighborhood shopping centers. As of December 31, 2022, our portfolio was comprised of 373 shopping centers (the “Portfolio”) totaling approximately 66 million square feet of GLA. Our high-quality national Portfolio is primarily located within established trade areas in the top 50 Core-Based Statistical Areas (“CBSAs”) in the U.S., and our shopping centers are primarily anchored by non-discretionary and value-oriented retailers, as well as consumer-oriented service providers. As of December 31, 2022, our three largest tenants by annualized base rent (“ABR”) were The TJX Companies, Inc., The Kroger Co., and Burlington Stores, Inc. In the opinion of our management, no material part of our business is dependent upon a single tenant, the loss of which would have a material adverse effect on us, and no single tenant or shopping center accounted for 5% or more of our consolidated revenues during 2022.
As of December 31, 2022, BPG beneficially owned, through its direct and indirect interest in BPG Sub and the General Partner, 100% of the outstanding partnership common units (the “OP Units”) in the Operating Partnership. The number of OP Units in the Operating Partnership beneficially owned by BPG is equivalent to the number of outstanding shares of BPG’s common stock, and the entitlement of all OP Units to quarterly distributions and payments in liquidation is substantially the same as those of BPG’s common stockholders. BPG’s common stock is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) under the ticker symbol “BRX.”
Management operates BPG and the Operating Partnership as one business. Because the Operating Partnership is managed by BPG, and BPG conducts substantially all of its operations through the Operating Partnership, BPG’s executive officers are the Operating Partnership’s executive officers, and although, as a partnership, the Operating Partnership does not have a board of directors, we refer to BPG’s board of directors as the Operating Partnership’s board of directors.
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Our Shopping Centers
The following table provides summary information regarding our Portfolio as of December 31, 2022:
Number of Shopping Centers 373
GLA (square feet) 66.0 million
Percent Billed 90%
Percent Leased 94%
Annualized Base Rent ("ABR") Per Square Foot (“PSF”)(1) $16.19
New, Renewal and Option Volume (square feet)(2) 10.6 million
New Lease Volume (square feet)(2) 3.3 million
New, Renewal and Option Rent Spread(2)(3) 12.7%
New Rent Spread(2)(3) 37.0%
Percent Grocery-anchored Shopping Centers(4) 72%
Percent of ABR in Top 50 U.S. CBSAs 71%
(1) ABR represents contractual monthly base rent as of a specified date under leases that have been signed or commenced as of the specified date, multiplied by 12. For purposes of calculating ABR, all signed or commenced leases with an initial term of one year or greater are included. ABR PSF is calculated as ABR divided by leased GLA, excluding the GLA of lessee-owned leasehold improvements.
(2) During the year ended December 31, 2022.
(3) Represents the percentage change in contractual ABR PSF in the first year of the new lease relative to contractual ABR PSF in the last year of the old lease. For purposes of calculating rent spreads, ABR PSF includes the GLA of lessee-owned leasehold improvements. Based on comparable leases only, which consist of new leases signed on units that were occupied within the prior 12 months, renewal leases signed with the same tenant in all or a portion of the same location or that include the expansion into space that was occupied within the prior 12 months, and contractual renewal options exercised by tenants in the same location to extend the term of an expiring lease. New leases signed on units that have been vacant for longer than 12 months, new leases signed on first generation space, and new leases that are ancillary in nature regardless of term are deemed non-comparable and excluded from New Rent Spreads. Renewals that include the expansion of an existing tenant into space that has been vacant for longer than 12 months and renewals that are ancillary in nature regardless of term are deemed non-comparable and excluded from Renewal Rent Spreads.
(4) Based on number of shopping centers.
Business Objectives and Strategies
Our primary objective is to maximize total returns to our stockholders through consistent, sustainable growth in cash flow. Our key strategies to achieve this objective include proactively managing our Portfolio to drive internal growth, pursuing value-enhancing reinvestment opportunities, and prudently executing on acquisition and disposition activity, while also maintaining a flexible capital structure positioned for growth. In addition, as we execute on our key strategies, we do so guided by our purpose-driven Corporate Responsibility (“CR”) strategy and our commitment to environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) issues.
Driving Internal Growth. Our primary drivers of internal growth include (i) embedded contractual rent escalations, (ii) below-market rents that may be reset to market as leases expire, (iii) occupancy growth, and (iv) prudent expense management, including proactively navigating inflationary pressure on operating costs and wages. Ongoing strong new leasing productivity, with a key focus on merchandising and our enhanced underwriting processes, have also enabled us to consistently improve the credit of our tenancy and the vibrancy and relevancy of our Portfolio to retailers and consumers. During 2022, we executed 613 new leases representing approximately 3.3 million square feet and 1,614 total leases, including new leases, renewals, and options, representing approximately 10.6 million square feet.
We believe that rents across our Portfolio are well below market, which provides us with a key competitive advantage in attracting and retaining tenants. During 2022, we achieved rent spreads on new leases of 37.0% and blended rent spreads on new and renewal leases of 16.0% excluding options or 12.7% including options. Looking forward, the weighted average expiring ABR PSF of anchor lease expirations through 2025, assuming no remaining renewal options are exercised, is $10.23 compared to a weighted average ABR PSF of $13.56 for new anchor leases signed during 2022.
Our high-quality, nationally diversified portfolio of community and neighborhood shopping centers continues to benefit from the desire of many thriving retail platforms to locate in physical formats that provide greater access and proximity to their customers, which has led to robust leasing demand and below-average tenant move-out activity, driving record leased occupancy in 2022. We believe there is opportunity for further occupancy gains in our Portfolio, particularly for spaces less than 10,000 square feet, as such spaces will continue to benefit from our value-enhancing reinvestment initiatives. As of December 31, 2022, leased occupancy was a record 89.2% for spaces less
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than 10,000 square feet, while our total leased occupancy was a record 93.8%. The spread between our total leased occupancy and our total billed occupancy was 360 basis points and our total signed but not yet commenced lease population, which includes an additional 70 basis points of GLA related to space that will soon be vacated by existing tenants, represented 2.9 million square feet and $54.7 million of ABR, providing strong visibility on our future growth.
Pursuing value-enhancing reinvestment opportunities. We believe that we have significant opportunities to realize attractive risk-adjusted returns by investing capital in the repositioning and/or redevelopment of certain assets in our Portfolio. Such initiatives are tenant driven and focus on upgrading our centers with strong, best-in-class retailers. During 2022, we stabilized 30 anchor space repositioning, outparcel development, and redevelopment projects, with a weighted average incremental net operating income (“NOI”) yield of 10% and an aggregate cost of $179.3 million. As of December 31, 2022, we had 48 projects in process with an expected weighted average incremental NOI yield of 9% and an aggregate anticipated cost of $342.9 million. In addition, we have identified a pipeline of future reinvestment projects aggregating approximately $1.0 billion of potential capital investment, which we expect to execute over the next several years at NOI yields that are generally consistent with those that we have recently realized.
Prudently executing on acquisition and disposition activity. We actively pursue acquisition and disposition opportunities in order to further concentrate our Portfolio in attractive retail submarkets and optimize the quality and long-term growth rate of our asset base. In general, our acquisition strategy focuses on buying assets with strong growth potential that are located in our existing markets and will allow us to leverage our operational platform and expertise to create value, while our disposition strategy focuses on selling assets when we believe value has been maximized, where there may be future downside risk, or where we have limited ability or desire to build critical mass in a particular submarket. Our acquisition activity may include acquisitions of open-air shopping centers and non-owned anchor spaces or outparcels at, or adjacent to, our shopping centers and the timing of acquisition and disposition activity is often dependent on the transactions and capital markets environments.
During 2022, we acquired $409.7 million of assets, including transaction costs and closing credits, and generated aggregate net proceeds of $277.0 million from property dispositions. Acquisitions were funded through a combination of net proceeds from property dispositions and available cash.
Maintaining a Flexible Capital Structure Positioned for Growth.We believe our capital structure provides us with the financial flexibility and capacity to fund our current capital needs as well as future growth opportunities. We have access to multiple forms of capital, including secured property level debt, unsecured corporate level debt, preferred equity, and common equity, which will allow us to efficiently execute on our strategic and operational objectives. We have investment grade credit ratings from all three major credit rating agencies and during 2022, we received a credit rating upgrade from Fitch Ratings and a positive credit rating outlook from S&P Global Ratings.
During 2022, we amended and restated our unsecured credit facility (the “Unsecured Credit Facility”), which is comprised of a $1.25 billion revolving credit facility (the “Revolving Facility”) and a $300 million term loan facility, in addition to a new $200 million delayed draw term loan (together, the “Term Loan Facility"). The Unsecured Credit Facility amendment extended the maturities of the Revolving Facility and Term Loan Facility to June 2026 and July 2027, respectively, while also improving pricing and adding a sustainability-linked pricing component related to our continued reductions of greenhouse gas emissions. During 2022, we also renewed our $400 million share repurchase program and our $400 million at-the-market equity offering program (“ATM”), which together provide us with maximum flexibility to capitalize on a wide range of potential capital markets environments and support the long-term execution of our balanced business plan.
Also, during 2022 we repaid $250.0 million of our senior unsecured notes due 2022 with available cash. As of December 31, 2022, we had $1.35 billion of available liquidity, including $1.12 billion under our Revolving Facility, $200.0 million under our delayed draw term loan, and $21.3 million of cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash. We have no debt maturities in 2023 and have $500.0 million of debt maturities in June 2024.
Operating in a Socially Responsible Manner. We believe that prioritizing corporate responsibility is critical to delivering consistent, sustainable growth. Our CR strategy is integrated throughout our organization and is focused on creating partnerships that improve the social, economic, and environmental well-being of all our stakeholders
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including our communities, employees, tenants, suppliers and vendors, and investors. Our strong commitment to ESG issues directly aligns with our core values and our vision to be the center of the communities we serve.
Our ESG Steering Committee, which is comprised of executive and senior leadership from a variety of functional areas, meets quarterly to set, implement, monitor, and communicate our CR strategy and related initiatives. Our board of directors, through our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee (“NCGC”) oversees our CR initiatives to ensure that our actions consistently demonstrate our strong commitment to operating in an environmentally and socially responsible manner. To facilitate their oversight, the NCGC and our board of directors are provided with quarterly updates on our initiatives by our senior leadership team. CR objectives are included as part of our executive officers' goals and the achievement of such goals impacts the individual performance portion of their compensation.
We provide best-in-class, comprehensive CR disclosures, prepared in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (“GRI”) Standards and in alignment with Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (“SASB”) and Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (“TCFD”) reporting frameworks. We are a GRESB participant and a signatory to the Science Based Targets initiative (“SBTI”).
•Environmental Responsibility: In 2021, our ESG Steering Committee formalized the Company’s Climate Change Policy, which articulates our strategy for the assessment of and response to the risks posed by climate change and natural hazards to our properties, our tenants, and the communities we serve. As part of this policy, we set a goal to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2045 for areas under our operational control. As a signatory of the SBTI, aligned with the 1.5 degree Celsius pathway, we are committed to an interim reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030 for areas under our operational control. As of December 31, 2021, we have achieved a 38% reduction against this interim SBTI goal.
•Human Capital: As of December 31, 2022, we had 502 employees, including 500 full-time employees. Our talented and committed employees are the foundation of our success. Together, we strive to promote a culture that is supportive, collaborative, and inclusive, and that provides opportunities for both personal and professional growth. We empower our employees to think and act like owners in order to create value for all stakeholders. This approach enables us to attract and retain diverse and talented professionals while fostering collaborative, skilled, and motivated teams. The pillars of our human capital strategy are:
•Engagement: We believe that employees that are personally engaged in our vision to be the center of the communities we serve and are connected with similarly engaged colleagues will be more effective in their roles. We measure employee engagement through biennial employee surveys and utilize the results from such surveys to continually improve our organization, enhancing benefits and various other forms of support based on employee feedback. Our engagement and connectivity initiatives have contributed to our 99% employee satisfaction score and 100% participation in annual performance reviews and talent development discussions.
•Growth and Development: We encourage our employees to grow and develop their interests, skills, and passions by providing learning opportunities along with professional and personal training. Our annual talent development process is intended to provide a well-rounded perspective on individual performance by recognizing employee strengths, identifying opportunities for growth, and developing actionable plans for professional development. We foster employee growth by providing: comprehensive training programs geared towards specific job functions; innovative development programs, such as two-year intensive apprenticeship programs for entry level employees in leasing, property management, and construction; Predictive Index Behavioral Assessments to enhance self-awareness and effective collaboration; education assistance through reimbursements for tuition and professional licensure; and “Personal Development Accounts,” which provide time off and expense reimbursement for a personal or professional development activity chosen by the employee.
•Health and Well-being: Our commitment to the health and well-being of our employees is a crucial component of our culture. We provide a wide-range of employee benefits including comprehensive medical, prescription, dental and vision insurance coverage (the majority of which is paid for by the Company); paid maternity, paternity, and adoption leave; matching 401(k) contributions; life insurance, disability benefits, and spousal death benefits; and a variety of time off benefits. We also encourage healthy lifestyles through initiatives such as: an annual wellness spending account; free
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access to online applications such as Noom (for developing healthy eating and lifestyle habits) and Headspace (for mindfulness and meditation); weekly live meditation breaks; health-oriented employee competitions; and "Wellness Wednesdays," which include live demonstrations related to a variety of healthy lifestyle topics. We also provide free access to licensed counselors to support mental health and offer hybrid work schedules to maximize engagement, collaboration, and efficiency, while supporting a healthy work-life balance.
•Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (“DEI”): We believe our performance is enhanced by an inclusive environment that reflects the diversity of the communities we serve. We advocate for DEI in every part of our organization and strive to create equal opportunities for all current and future employees. We believe a culture based on DEI is critical to our ability to attract and retain talented employees and to deliver on our strategic goals and objectives. Every year, each employee participates in culture and ethics training and signs a pledge to commit to helping create and maintain an inclusive culture free from harassment based on race, sexual orientation, gender, and other protected classes. Our DEI Leadership Council, comprised of diverse senior leaders from a variety of functional areas, reports directly to our CEO and assists in maintaining best practices and behaviors to enhance inclusion and promote equity and diversity. In addition, our employee-led Employee Resource Group helps further the DEI Leadership Council's key initiatives by bringing employees together to connect and learn. We also regularly feature DEI themes in employee trainings and community events, such as our Big Brain Days.
We strive to ensure diversity of job candidates through partnerships with DEI focused organizations such as ICSC Launch Academy and Sponsors For Educational Opportunity (SEO), which seek to provide summer internship opportunities for racially diverse undergraduate students. We also assess pay equity periodically as it relates to gender, race, and ethnicity based on a role/similar-role basis. On average, there is no pay gap with respect to gender or race/ethnicity across the Company. Additionally, in 2021, our CEO signed the CEO Action for Diversity & InclusionTM pledge, which is the largest CEO-driven business commitment to advance DEI in the workplace. In 2022, we became a founding donor to Nareit's Dividends Through Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Giving Campaign, which supports charitable and educational organizations and initiatives that will help create a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive REIT and publicly traded real estate industry.
For more information on our CR strategy, goals, performance, and achievements, please visit our CR page at https://www.brixmor.com/why-brixmor/corporate-responsibility. Information on our website is not incorporated by reference herin and is not a part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K
Tenants
Our national portfolio is thoughtfully merchandised with non-discretionary and value-oriented retailers, as well as consumer-oriented service providers, and is home to a broad mix of national and regional tenants and local entrepreneurs. As of December 31, 2022, we had over 5,000 diverse tenants in our portfolio, including many vibrant new retailers added over the past several years, and approximately 72% of our properties were anchored by a grocer.
See “Item 2. Properties” for further information on our 20 largest tenants.
Compliance with Government Regulations
We are subject to federal, state, and local regulations, including environmental regulations that apply generally to the ownership of, and the operations conducted on, real property. As of December 31, 2022, we are not aware of any environmental conditions or material costs of complying with environmental or other government regulations that would have a material adverse effect on our overall business, financial condition, or results of operations. However, it is possible that we are not aware of, or may become subject to, potential environmental liabilities or material costs of complying with government regulations that could be material. See “Environmental conditions that exist at some of the properties in our Portfolio could result in significant unexpected costs” and “Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, environmental laws, and fire, safety and other regulations may require us to make expenditures that would adversely affect our financial condition, operating results, and cash flows” in Item 1A. “Risk Factors” for further information regarding our risks related to government regulations.
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Financial Information about Industry Segments
Our principal business is the ownership and operation of open-air retail shopping centers. We do not distinguish our principal business or group our operations on a geographical basis for purposes of measuring performance. Accordingly, we have a single reportable segment for disclosure purposes in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”).
REIT Qualification
We have been organized and operated in conformity with the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT under U.S. federal income tax laws commencing with our taxable year ended December 31, 2011, have maintained such requirements through our taxable year ended December 31, 2022, and intend to satisfy such requirements for subsequent taxable years. As a REIT, we generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on net taxable income that we distribute annually to our stockholders. In order to qualify as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we must continually satisfy tests concerning, among other things, the real estate qualification of sources of our income, the composition and value of our assets, the amounts we distribute to our stockholders, and the diversity of ownership of our stock. In order to comply with REIT requirements, we may need to forgo otherwise attractive opportunities or limit the manner in which we conduct our operations. See “Risks Related to our REIT Status and Certain Other Tax Items” in Item 1A. “Risk Factors” for further information.
Executive Officers
As of December 31, 2022, each of our executive officers has been employed by us for more than five years and included the following:
Name Position Year Joined(1) Age
James Taylor President, Chief Executive Officer 2016 56
Brian T. Finnegan Executive Vice President, Chief Revenue Officer 2004 42
Mark T. Horgan Executive Vice President, Chief Investment Officer 2016 47
Steven F. Siegel Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary 1991 62
Carolyn Carter Singh (2) Executive Vice President, Chief Talent Officer 2001 60
(1)Includes predecessors of Brixmor Property Group Inc.
(2)Effective January 4, 2023, Shea Taylor, age 50, replaced Carolyn Carter Singh, upon her retirement, as Executive Vice President, Chief Talent Officer
Corporate Headquarters
Brixmor Property Group Inc., a Maryland corporation, was incorporated in 2011. The Operating Partnership, a Delaware limited partnership, was formed in 2011. Our principal executive offices are located at 450 Lexington Avenue, New York, New York 10017, and our telephone number is (212) 869-3000.
Our website address is https://www.brixmor.com. Information on our website is not incorporated by reference herein and is not a part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We make available free of charge on our website our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and any amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), as soon as reasonably practicable after those reports are electronically filed with or furnished to the SEC. We also make available through our website other reports filed with or furnished to the SEC under the Exchange Act, including our proxy statements and reports filed by officers and directors under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act. You may access these filings by visiting “SEC Filings” under the “Financial Info” section of the “Investors” portion of our website. In addition, the SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information for issuers, such as us, that file electronically with the SEC at https://www.sec.gov.
Financial and other material information regarding our company is routinely posted on and accessible at the “Investors” portion of our website at https://www.brixmor.com. Investors and others should note that we use our website as a channel of distribution of material information to our investors. Therefore, we encourage investors and others interested in our company to review the information we post on the “Investors” portion of our website. In
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addition, you may enroll to automatically receive e-mail alerts and other information about our company by visiting “Email Alerts” under the “Additional Info” section of the “Investors” portion of our website.
Dividend Reinvestment & Direct Stock Purchase Plan
Our registrar and stock transfer agent is Computershare Trust Company, N.A. We offer a Dividend Reinvestment and Direct Stock Purchase Plan, providing shareholders and new investors with a simple and convenient method of investing in additional shares of common stock without payment of transaction or processing fees, service charges, or other expenses. Plan inquiries may be directed to (877) 373-6374, or (781) 575-2879 if located outside the U.S. and Canada.
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Item 1A. Risk Factors
Risks Related to Our Portfolio and Our Business
Adverse economic, market, and real estate conditions may adversely affect our financial condition, operating results, and cash flows.
Our Portfolio is predominantly comprised of community and neighborhood shopping centers. Our performance is, therefore, subject to risks associated with owning and operating these types of real estate assets. See “Forward-Looking Statements” included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the factors that could affect our rental income and/or property operating expenses and therefore adversely affect our financial condition, operating results, and cash flows.
Recent significant increases in inflation and interest rates could adversely affect us and our tenants.
Inflation has significantly increased over the last two years and may continue to be elevated or increase further. The efforts of the Federal Reserve to combat inflation have led to significant increases in interest rates. These increases have resulted in higher operating and incremental borrowing costs for us and our tenants. Although the terms of our leases, the duration of our indebtedness, and our relatively low exposure to floating rate debt have mitigated the direct impact of inflation and interest rate increases, the degree and pace of these changes have had and may continue to have impacts on our business, including as a result of a potential economic recession, which may lead to higher levels of unemployment and decreases in consumer confidence and/or discretionary spending.
Public health crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, could materially and adversely affect our financial condition, operating results, and cash flows.
A future public health crisis, such as the one experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, could have repercussions across domestic and global economies and financial markets. Government responses to such crises, including quarantines, may force our tenants to temporarily close stores, reduce hours, or significantly limit service which may result in significant economic contractions and a dramatic increase in national unemployment. The direct and indirect impacts of these crises could adversely affect our financial condition, operating results, and cash flows.
We may be required to make rent or other concessions and/or incur significant capital expenditures to retain existing tenants or attract new tenants.
There are numerous shopping venues, including regional malls, outlet malls, other shopping centers, and e-commerce, which compete with our Portfolio in attracting and retaining retailers. As of December 31, 2022, leases are scheduled to expire in our Portfolio on a total of approximately 8.6% of leased GLA during 2023. We may not be able to renew or promptly re-lease expiring space and even if we do renew or re-lease such space, future rental rates may be lower than current rates and other terms may not be as favorable. In addition, we may be required to incur significant capital expenditures in order to retain existing tenants or attract new tenants. In these situations, our financial condition, operating results, and cash flows could be adversely impacted.
Our active value-enhancing reinvestment program subjects us to risks that could adversely affect our financial condition, operating results, and cash flows.
In order to maintain the attractiveness of our Portfolio to retailers and consumers, we actively reinvest in our assets in the form of repositioning and redevelopments projects. In addition to the risks associated with real estate investments in general, as described elsewhere, the risks associated with repositioning and redevelopment projects include: (1) delays or failures in obtaining necessary zoning, occupancy, land use, and other governmental permits; (2) abandonment of projects after expending resources to pursue such opportunities; (3) cost overruns; (4) construction delays; and (5) failure to achieve expected occupancy and/or rent levels within the projected time frame, if at all. If we fail to reinvest in our Portfolio or maintain its attractiveness to retailers and consumers, if our capital improvements are not successful, or if retailers and consumers perceive that shopping at other venues (including e-commerce) is more convenient, cost-effective, or otherwise more compelling, our financial condition, operating results, and cash flows could be adversely impacted.
Significant retailer distress across our Portfolio could adversely affect our financial condition, operating results, and cash flows.
Our income is substantially comprised of rental income from tenants in our Portfolio. Our income would be adversely affected if a significant number of our tenants failed to make rental payments when due as a result of either operating challenges or disruptions in credit markets that adversely affect the ability of our tenants to obtain
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financing on favorable terms or at all. If our tenants are unable to meet their rental obligations, renew leases, or enter into new leases with us, our financial condition, operating results, and cash flows could be adversely impacted.
In certain circumstances, a tenant may have a right to terminate their lease. For example, a failure by an anchor tenant to occupy their leased premises could potentially trigger lease termination rights or reductions in rent due from certain other tenants in that shopping center. In the event of such lease terminations, we cannot be certain that we will be able to re-lease space on similar or economically advantageous terms. The loss of rental income from a significant number of tenants and difficulty in replacing such tenants could adversely affect our financial condition, operating results, and cash flows.
We may be unable to collect outstanding balances and/or future contractual rents due from tenants that file for bankruptcy protection.
When a tenant files for bankruptcy protection, we may not be able to collect amounts owed to us by that party prior to the bankruptcy filing. In addition, after filing for bankruptcy protection, a tenant may terminate any or all of its leases with us, which would result in a general unsecured claim against such tenant that would likely be worth less than the full amount owed to us over the remainder of the lease term. In these situations, we cannot be certain that we will be able to re-lease such space on similar or economically advantageous terms, which could adversely affect our financial condition, operating results, and cash flows.
Our expenses may remain constant or increase, even if income from our Portfolio decreases.
Costs associated with our business, such as common area expenses, utilities, insurance, real estate taxes, and corporate expenses, are relatively inflexible and generally do not decrease due to vacancy, decreasing rental rates, rent collection issues, or other circumstances that may cause our revenues to decrease. In addition, inflation has and could continue to result in higher operating costs. If we are unable to lower our operating costs when revenues decline and/or are unable to fully pass along cost increases to our tenants, our financial condition, operating results, and cash flows could be adversely impacted.
Our real estate investments are relatively illiquid and we may not be able to dispose of assets in a timely manner, on favorable terms, or at all.
Our ability to dispose of properties on advantageous terms depends on factors beyond our control, including competition from other sellers and the availability of attractive financing for potential buyers, and we cannot predict the various market conditions affecting real estate investments that will exist at any particular time in the future. We may be required to expend funds to correct defects or to make capital improvements before a property can be sold and we cannot be certain that we will have the funds available to make such capital improvements; therefore, we may be unable to sell a property on favorable terms or at all. In addition, the ability to sell assets in our Portfolio may also be restricted by certain covenants in our debt agreements, such as the credit agreement governing our Unsecured Credit Facility. As a result, we may be unable to realize our investment objectives through dispositions, which could adversely affect our financial condition, operating results, and cash flows.
Our real estate assets may be subject to impairment charges.
We periodically assess whether there are any indicators, including property operating performance, changes in anticipated hold period, and general market conditions, that the carrying value of our real estate assets (including any related intangible assets or liabilities) may be impaired. A property’s value is considered to be impaired only if the estimated aggregate future undiscounted and unleveraged property operating cash flows, taking into account the anticipated probability-weighted hold period, are less than the carrying value of the property. Impairment charges have an immediate direct impact on our earnings. We have taken impairment charges on certain of our assets in the past and there can be no assurance that we will not take additional charges in the future. Any future impairment could have an adverse effect on our operating results in the period in which the charge is recognized.
We face competition in pursuing acquisition opportunities, which could increase the cost of such acquisitions and/or limit our ability to grow. To the extent that we are able to complete acquisitions, we may not be able to generate expected returns or successfully integrate such acquisitions into our existing operations.
We continue to evaluate the market for potential acquisitions and we may acquire properties when we believe strategic opportunities exist. Our ability to acquire properties on favorable terms and successfully integrate, operate, reposition, or redevelop such properties is subject to several risks. We may be unable to acquire desired properties
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because of competition from other real estate investors, including from other well-capitalized REITs and institutional investment funds. Even if we are able to acquire desired properties, competition from such investors may significantly increase the price we must pay. In certain circumstances, we may abandon acquisition activities after expending significant resources to pursue such opportunities. Once we acquire new properties, these properties may not yield expected returns for several reasons, including: (1) failure to achieve expected occupancy and/or rent levels within the projected time frame, if at all; (2) inability to successfully integrate new properties into existing operations; and (3) fluctuations in the general economy, including due to the time lag between signing definitive documentation to acquire a new property and the closing of the acquisition. If any of these events occur, our financial condition, operating results, and cash flows could be adversely impacted.
We utilize a significant amount of indebtedness in the operation of our business. Required debt service payments and other risks related to our debt financing could adversely affect our financial condition, operating results, and cash flows.
As of December 31, 2022, we had approximately $5.0 billion aggregate principal amount of indebtedness outstanding. Our indebtedness could have important consequences to us. For example, it could (1) require us to dedicate a substantial portion of our cash flow to principal and interest payments, reducing the cash flow available to fund our business, pay dividends, including those necessary to maintain our REIT qualification, or use for other purposes; (2) increase our vulnerability to an economic downturn or various competitive pressures, as debt payments are not reduced if the economic performance of any property, or the Portfolio as a whole, deteriorates; and (3) limit our flexibility to respond to changing business and economic conditions. In addition, non-compliance with the terms of our debt agreements could result in the acceleration of a significant amount of indebtedness and could materially impair our ability to borrow unused amounts under existing financing arrangements or to obtain additional financing on favorable terms or at all. Any of these outcomes could adversely affect our financial condition, operating results, and cash flows.
Our variable rate indebtedness subjects us to interest rate risk, and an increase in our debt service obligations may adversely affect our financial condition, operating results, and cash flows.
During 2022, interest rates increased significantly and may further increase in the future. As of December 31, 2022, $300.0 million of borrowings under our Term Loan Facility and $125.0 million of borrowings under our Revolving Facility bear interest at variable rates. In addition, we had $1.1 billion of available liquidity under our Revolving Facility and a $200.0 million delayed draw available under the Term Loan Facility, both of which would bear interest at variable rates upon borrowing. When interest rates increase, our debt service obligations on the variable rate indebtedness increase even though the amount borrowed remains the same, and our net income and cash flows correspondingly decrease. In order to partially mitigate our exposure to interest rate risk, we have entered into interest rate swap agreements on $300.0 million of our variable rate debt, which involve the exchange of variable for fixed rate interest payments. Taking into account our current interest rate swap agreements, a 100 basis point increase in interest rates would result in a $1.3 million increase in annual interest expense.
We may be unable to obtain additional capital through the debt and equity markets on favorable terms or at all.
As a REIT, we must annually distribute at least 90% of our REIT taxable income to our stockholders. As a result, we depend on internally generated free cash flow, proceeds from asset sales, and capital raises in the debt and equity markets to fund our business. Our access to external capital depends upon several factors, including general market conditions, our current and potential future earnings, the market’s perception of our growth potential, our liquidity and leverage ratios, and our cash distributions. Additionally, interest rates have increased significantly during 2022 and may increase in the future. Increased interest rates negatively affect our ability to efficiently refinance our outstanding debt. Consequently, we cannot provide assurance that we will be able to access the debt and equity capital markets on favorable terms or at all. Our inability to obtain debt or equity capital could result in the disruption of our ability to: (1) operate, maintain or reinvest in our Portfolio; (2) repay or refinance our indebtedness on or before maturity; (3) acquire new properties; or (4) dispose of some of our assets on favorable terms due to an immediate need for capital. As a result, our financial condition, operating results, and cash flows be adversely impacted.
Adverse changes in our credit rating could affect our borrowing ability and the terms of existing or new financing.
Our creditworthiness is rated by nationally recognized credit rating agencies. The credit ratings assigned are based on our operating performance, liquidity and leverage ratios, financial condition and prospects, and other factors
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viewed by the credit rating agencies as relevant to our industry. Our credit rating can affect our ability to access debt capital, as well as the terms of certain existing and potential future debt financings. Since we depend on debt financing to fund our business, an adverse change in our credit rating, including changes in our credit outlook, or even the initiation of a review of our credit rating that could result in an adverse change, could adversely affect our financial condition, operating results, and cash flows.
Covenants in our debt agreements could, under certain circumstances, result in an acceleration of our indebtedness.
Our debt agreements contain various financial and operating covenants, including, among other things, certain coverage ratios and limitations on our ability to incur secured and unsecured debt. A breach of any of these covenants, if not cured within any applicable cure period, could result in a default and acceleration of certain of our indebtedness. If any of our indebtedness is accelerated prior to maturity, we may not be able to repay or refinance such indebtedness on favorable terms, or at all, which could adversely affect our financial condition, operating results, and cash flows.
An uninsured property loss or a loss that exceeds the limits of our insurance policies could result in a loss of our investment or revenue associated with those properties.
We carry comprehensive liability, fire, extended coverage, business interruption, and acts of terrorism insurance with policy specifications and insured limits customarily carried for similar properties. There are, however, certain types of losses, such as from hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, terrorism, or wars, where coverages are limited or deductibles may be higher. In addition, tenants generally are required to indemnify and hold us harmless from liabilities resulting from injury to persons or damage to personal or real property on the premises due to activities conducted by tenants or their agents on the properties (including without limitation any environmental contamination), and to obtain liability and property damage insurance policies at the tenant’s expense, kept in full force during the term of the lease. However, tenants may not properly maintain their insurance policies or have the ability to pay the deductibles associated with such policies. Should a loss occur that is uninsured or in an amount exceeding the combined aggregate limits for the policies noted above, or in the event of an insured loss that is subject to a substantial deductible, we could lose all or part of the capital invested in, and anticipated revenue from, one or more properties, which could adversely affect our financial condition, operating results, and cash flows.
Environmental conditions that exist at some of the properties in our Portfolio could result in significant unexpected costs.
We are subject to federal, state, and local environmental regulations that apply generally to the ownership of, and the operations conducted on, real property. Under various federal, state, and local laws, ordinances, and regulations, we may be or become liable for the costs of removal or remediation of certain hazardous or toxic substances released on or in our properties or disposed of by us or our tenants, as well as certain other potential costs that could relate to hazardous or toxic substances (including governmental fines and injuries to persons and property). Such liability may be imposed whether or not we knew of, or were responsible for, the presence of these hazardous or toxic substances. As is the case with many community and neighborhood shopping centers, many of our properties had or have on-site dry cleaners and/or on-site gas stations, the prior or current use of which could potentially increase our environmental liability exposure. The costs of investigation and removal or remediation of such substances may be substantial, and the presence of such substances, or the failure to properly remediate such substances, may adversely affect our ability to lease such property, to borrow funds using such property as collateral, or to dispose of such property.
In addition, certain of our properties may contain asbestos-containing building materials (“ACBM”). Environmental laws require that ACBM be properly managed and maintained, and may impose fines and penalties on building owners or operators for failure to comply with these requirements. The laws also may allow third parties to seek recovery from owners or operators for personal injury associated with exposure to asbestos fibers.
Finally, we can provide no assurance that we are aware of all potential environmental liabilities or that the environmental studies performed by us have identified or will identify all material environmental conditions that may exist with respect to any of the properties in our Portfolio; that any previous owner, occupant, or tenant did not create any material environmental condition unknown to us; that our properties will not be affected by tenants or nearby properties or other unrelated third parties; or that changes in environmental laws and regulations will not result in additional environmental liabilities to us.
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Further information relating to recognition of remediation obligations in accordance with GAAP is discussed under the heading “Environmental matters” in Note 15 – Commitments and Contingencies to our Consolidated Financial Statements in this report.
Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, fire, safety, environmental, and other regulations may require us to make expenditures that could adversely affect our financial condition, operating results, and cash flows.
All of the properties in our Portfolio are required to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). The ADA has separate compliance requirements for “public accommodations” and “commercial facilities,” but generally requires that buildings be made accessible to people with disabilities. Compliance with the ADA requirements may necessitate the removal of access barriers and non-compliance could result in the imposition of fines by the U.S. government, awards of damages to private litigants, or both. We are continually assessing our Portfolio to determine our compliance with the current requirements of the ADA. We are required to comply with the ADA within the common areas of our Portfolio and we may not be able to pass on to our tenants the costs necessary to remediate any common area ADA issues, which could adversely affect our financial condition, operating results, and cash flows. In addition, we are required to operate the properties in compliance with fire, safety, and environmental regulations, building codes, and other regulations, as they may be adopted by governmental bodies and become applicable to our Portfolio. As a result, we may be required to make substantial capital expenditures to comply with, and we may be restricted in our ability to renovate or redevelop properties subject to, those requirements. Further, compliance with new or more stringent laws or regulations or stricter interpretations of existing laws may require us to make additional capital expenditures. For example, various federal, state, and local laws and regulations have been implemented or are under consideration to mitigate the effects of climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions. Among other things, “green” building codes may seek to reduce emissions through the imposition of standards for design, construction materials, water and energy usage and efficiency, and waste management. These requirements could increase the costs of maintaining or improving the properties in our Portfolio and could also result in increased compliance costs or additional operating restrictions that could adversely impact the businesses of our tenants and their ability to pay rent, which could adversely affect our financial condition, operating results, and cash flows.
We and our tenants face risks relating to cybersecurity attacks that could cause the loss of confidential information or other business disruptions.
We rely extensively on computer systems to operate and manage our business and process transactions, and as a result, our business is at risk from, and may be impacted by, cybersecurity attacks. These attacks could include attempts to gain unauthorized access to our data and/or computer systems. Attacks may be undertaken by individuals or may be highly organized attempts by very sophisticated organizations. We employ a variety of measures to prevent, detect, and mitigate these threats, which include password protection, frequent mandatory password change events, multi-factor authentication, mandatory employee trainings, firewall detection systems, frequent backups, a redundant data system for core applications, and annual penetration testing; however, there is no guarantee that such efforts will be successful in preventing or mitigating a cybersecurity attack. A cybersecurity attack, such as a ransomware attack, could compromise the confidential information, including the personally identifiable information, of our employees, tenants, and vendors, disrupt the proper functioning of our networks, result in misstated financial reports or covenants under various financing agreements, and/or missed reporting deadlines, prevent us from properly monitoring our REIT qualification, result in our inability to maintain the building systems relied upon by our tenants for the efficient use of their leased space, or require significant management attention and resources to remedy any damages that result. A successful attack could also damage our reputation and result in significant remediation costs and potential litigation. Similarly, our tenants rely extensively on computer systems to process transactions and manage their businesses and thus are also at risk from, and may be impacted by, cybersecurity attacks. A cybersecurity attack experienced by us or one of our tenants that results in an interruption in business operations and/or a deterioration in reputation could adversely affect our financial condition, operating results, and cash flows. As of December 31, 2022, we have not had any material incidences involving cybersecurity attacks.
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The direct and indirect impact on us and our tenants from severe weather, flooding, and other effects of climate change, and the economic and reputational impacts of the transition to non-carbon based energy, could adversely affect our financial condition, operating results, and cash flows.
Our properties have been and may in the future be adversely impacted by flooding, wildfires, high winds and other effects of severe weather conditions that may be caused or exacerbated by climate change. These events can result in property closures, property damage, and delays in value-enhancing reinvestment stabilizations, and may adversely impact the operations of our tenants. Even if these events do not directly impact our properties, they have impacted and may continue to impact us and our tenants through increases in insurance, energy or other costs. In addition, the ongoing transition to non-carbon based energy presents certain risks for us and our tenants, including risks related to high energy costs and energy shortages, among other things. Changes in laws or regulations, including federal, state, or local laws, relating to climate change could result in increased capital expenditures to improve the energy efficiency of our properties.
Risks Related to Our Organization and Structure
BPG’s board of directors may change significant corporate policies without stockholder approval.
BPG’s investment, financing, and dividend policies and our policies with respect to all other business activities, including strategy and operations, will be determined by BPG’s board of directors. These policies may be amended or revised at any time and from time to time at the discretion of BPG’s board of directors without a vote of our stockholders. BPG’s charter also provides that BPG’s board of directors may revoke or otherwise terminate our REIT election without the approval of BPG’s stockholders if it determines that it is no longer in BPG’s best interests to continue to qualify as a REIT. In addition, BPG’s board of directors may change BPG’s policies with respect to conflicts of interest, provided that such changes are consistent with applicable legal requirements. A change in any of these policies could have an adverse effect on our financial condition, operating results, and cash flows.
BPG’s board of directors may approve the issuance of stock, including preferred stock, with terms that may discourage a third party from acquiring us.
BPG’s charter permits its board of directors to authorize the issuance of stock in one or more classes or series. Our board of directors may also classify or reclassify any unissued stock and establish the preferences, conversion and other rights, voting powers, restrictions, limitations as to dividends and other distributions, qualifications, and terms and conditions of redemption of any such stock, which rights may be superior to those of our common stock. Thus, BPG’s board of directors could authorize the issuance of shares of a class or series of stock with terms and conditions that could have the effect of discouraging an unsolicited acquisition of us or a change of our control in which holders of some or a majority of BPG’s outstanding common stock may receive a premium for their shares over the then-current market price of our common stock.
The rights of BPG and BPG's stockholders to take action against BPG’s directors and officers are limited.
BPG’s charter eliminates the liability of BPG’s directors and officers to us and BPG’s stockholders for money damages to the maximum extent permitted under Maryland law. Under Maryland law and BPG’s charter, BPG’s directors and officers do not have any liability to BPG or BPG’s stockholders for money damages other than liability resulting from:
•the actual receipt of an improper benefit or profit in money, property, or services; or
•active and deliberate dishonesty by the director or officer that was established by a final judgment and is material to the cause of action adjudicated.
BPG’s charter authorizes, and BPG’s bylaws require, BPG to indemnify each of BPG’s directors and officers who is made a party to or witness in a proceeding by reason of his or her service in those capacities (or in a similar capacity at another entity at the request of BPG), to the maximum extent permitted under Maryland law, from and against any claim or liability to which such person may become subject by reason of his or her status as a present or former director or officer of BPG. In addition, BPG may be obligated to pay or reimburse the expenses incurred by BPG’s present and former directors and officers without requiring a preliminary determination of their ultimate entitlement to indemnification. As a result, BPG and BPG’s stockholders may have more limited rights to recover money damages from BPG’s directors and officers than might otherwise exist absent these provisions in BPG’s charter and bylaws or that might exist with other companies, which could limit the recourse of stockholders.
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BPG’s charter contains a provision that expressly permits BPG’s non-employee directors to compete with us.
BPG’s charter provides that, to the maximum extent permitted under Maryland law, BPG renounces any interest or expectancy that BPG has in, or any right to be offered an opportunity to participate in, any business opportunities that are from time to time presented to or developed by BPG’s directors or their affiliates, other than to those directors who are employed by BPG or BPG’s subsidiaries, unless the business opportunity is expressly offered or made known to such person in his or her capacity as a director. Non-employee directors or any of their affiliates will not have any duty to communicate or offer such transaction or business opportunity to us or to refrain from engaging, directly or indirectly, in the same or similar business activities or lines of business in which we or our affiliates engage or propose to engage. These provisions may deprive us of opportunities which we may have otherwise wanted to pursue.
BPG’s charter provides that, to the maximum extent permitted under Maryland law, each of BPG’s non-employee directors, and any of their affiliates, may:
•acquire, hold, and dispose of shares of BPG’s stock or OP Units for his or her own account or for the account of others, and exercise all of the rights of a stockholder of Brixmor Property Group Inc. or a limited partner of our Operating Partnership, to the same extent and in the same manner as if he, she, or they were not BPG’s director or stockholder; and
•in his, her, or their personal capacity or in his, her, or their capacity as a director, officer, trustee, stockholder, partner, member, equity owner, manager, advisor, or employee of any other person, have business interests and engage, directly or indirectly, in business activities that are similar to ours or compete with us, that involve a business opportunity that we could seize and develop or that include the acquisition, syndication, holding, management, development, operation, or disposition of interests in mortgages, real property, or persons engaged in the real estate business.
Risks Related to our REIT Status and Certain Other Tax Items
If BPG does not maintain its qualification as a REIT, it will be subject to tax as a regular corporation and could face a substantial tax liability.
BPG intends to continue to operate so as to qualify as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). However, qualification as a REIT involves the application of highly technical and complex Code provisions for which only a limited number of judicial or administrative interpretations exist. Notwithstanding the availability of cure provisions in the Code, BPG could fail to meet various compliance requirements, which could jeopardize its REIT status. Furthermore, new tax legislation, administrative guidance, or court decisions, in each instance potentially with retroactive effect, could make it more difficult or impossible for BPG to qualify as a REIT.
If BPG fails to qualify as a REIT in any taxable year and BPG is not entitled to relief under applicable statutory provisions:
•BPG would be taxed as a non-REIT “C” corporation, which under current laws, among other things, means being unable to deduct dividends paid to stockholders in computing taxable income and being subject to U.S. federal income tax on its taxable income at regular corporate income tax rates, which would reduce BPG’s cash flows and funds available for distribution to stockholders; and
•BPG would be disqualified from taxation as a REIT for the four taxable years following the year in which it failed to qualify as a REIT.
The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), the U.S. Treasury Department, and Congress frequently review U.S. federal income tax legislation, regulations, and other guidance. BPG cannot predict whether, when, or to what extent new U.S. federal tax laws, regulations, interpretations, or rulings will be adopted. Any legislative action may prospectively or retroactively modify BPG’s tax treatment and, therefore, may adversely affect taxation of BPG or BPG’s stockholders. Stockholders should consult with their tax advisors with respect to the status of legislative, regulatory, or administrative developments and proposals and their potential effect on an investment in BPG’s stock.
Complying with REIT requirements may force BPG to liquidate or restructure investments or forgo otherwise attractive investment opportunities, and/or may discourage BPG from disposing of certain assets.
In order to qualify as a REIT, BPG must satisfy various requirements relating to the types of assets it holds and the nature of its income. In order to satisfy these technical requirements, BPG may be required to liquidate from its
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portfolio, or contribute to a taxable REIT subsidiary, otherwise attractive investments in order to maintain its qualification as a REIT. These actions could reduce BPG’s income and amounts available for distribution to its stockholders.
In addition, the REIT provisions of the Code impose a 100% tax on income from “prohibited transactions.” Prohibited transactions generally include sales of assets, other than foreclosure property, that constitute inventory or other property held for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business. Although BPG does not intend to hold any properties that would be characterized as held for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business, unless a sale or disposition qualifies under certain statutory safe harbors, such characterization is a factual determination and no guarantee can be given that the IRS would agree with BPG’s characterization of its properties or that BPG will be able to make use of the otherwise available safe harbors. The resulting 100% tax could affect BPG’s decisions to sell certain properties if it believes such sales could be treated as prohibited transactions. However, BPG would not be subject to this tax if it were to sell such assets through a taxable REIT subsidiary, instead incurring tax on the asset sale at regular corporate tax rates.
BPG’s charter does not permit any person to own more than 9.8% of BPG’s outstanding common stock or of BPG’s outstanding stock of all classes or series, and attempts to acquire BPG’s common stock or BPG’s stock of all classes or series in excess of these limits would not be effective without an exemption from these limits by BPG’s board of directors.
For BPG to qualify as a REIT under the Code, not more than 50% of the value of BPG’s outstanding stock may be owned directly or indirectly by five or fewer individuals (including certain entities treated as individuals for this purpose) during the last half of a taxable year. For the purpose of assisting BPG’s qualification as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes, among other purposes, BPG’s charter prohibits beneficial or constructive ownership by any individual of more than a certain percentage, currently 9.8%, in value or by number of shares, whichever is more restrictive, of the outstanding shares of BPG’s common stock or 9.8% in value of the outstanding shares of BPG’s capital stock, which BPG refers to as the “ownership limit.” The constructive ownership rules under the Code and BPG’s charter are complex and may cause shares of the outstanding common stock owned by a group of related individuals to be deemed to be constructively owned by one individual. As a result, the acquisition of less than 9.8% of BPG’s outstanding common stock or BPG’s capital stock by an individual could cause the individual to own constructively in excess of 9.8% of BPG’s outstanding common stock or BPG’s capital stock, respectively, and thus violate the ownership limit. Any attempt to own or transfer shares of BPG’s stock in excess of the ownership limit without an exemption from BPG’s board of directors will result either in the shares in excess of the limit being transferred by operation of the charter to a charitable trust or the original transfer being void, and the individual who attempted to acquire such excess shares will not have any rights in such excess shares. In addition, there can be no assurance that BPG’s board of directors, as permitted in the charter, will not decrease this ownership limit in the future.
The ownership limit may have the effect of precluding a change in control of BPG by a third party, even if such change in control would be in the best interests of BPG’s stockholders or would result in BPG’s stockholders receiving a premium for their shares over the then-current market price of BPG’s common stock, and even if such change in control would not reasonably jeopardize BPG’s REIT status.
BPG may choose to make distributions in BPG’s own stock, in which case stockholders may be required to pay income taxes without receiving any cash dividends.
In connection with BPG’s qualification as a REIT, BPG is required to annually distribute to its stockholders at least 90% of its REIT taxable income, determined without regard to the deduction for dividends paid and excluding net capital gains. Although it does not currently intend to do so, in order to satisfy this requirement, BPG is permitted, subject to certain conditions and limitations, to make distributions that are in whole or in part payable in shares of BPG’s stock. Taxable stockholders receiving such distributions will be required to include a portion, if not all, of such distributions as ordinary dividend income. As a result, stockholders may be required to pay income taxes with respect to such distributions in excess of the cash portion of the distribution received and may be required to sell shares received in such distribution or may be required to sell other stock or assets owned by them, at a time that may be disadvantageous, in order to satisfy any tax imposed on such distribution. In addition, if a significant number of BPG’s stockholders elect to sell shares of BPG’s stock in order to pay taxes owed on dividend income, such sales may put downward pressure on the market price of BPG’s stock.
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Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
None.
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Item 2. Properties
As of December 31, 2022, our Portfolio was comprised of 373 shopping centers totaling approximately 66 million square feet of GLA. Our high-quality national Portfolio is primarily located within established trade areas in the top 50 CBSAs in the U.S., and our shopping centers are primarily anchored by non-discretionary and value-oriented retailers, as well as consumer-oriented service providers. As of December 31, 2022, our three largest tenants by ABR were The TJX Companies, Inc., The Kroger Co., and Burlington Stores, Inc.
The following table summarizes our top 20 tenants by ABR, as of December 31, 2022 (dollars in thousands, except for PSF amounts):
Retailer Owned Leases Leased GLA Percent of GLA ABR ABR PSF(1) Percent of ABR
(1) ABR PSF is calculated as ABR divided by leased GLA, excluding the GLA of lessee-owned leasehold improvements.
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The following table summarizes the geographic diversity of our Portfolio by state, ranked by ABR, as of December 31, 2022 (dollars in thousands, expect for PSF amounts):
(1) ABR PSF is calculated as ABR divided by leased GLA, excluding the GLA of lessee-owned leasehold improvements.
The following table summarizes certain information for our Portfolio by unit size, as of December 31, 2022 (dollars in thousands, expect for PSF amounts):
(1) ABR PSF is calculated as ABR divided by leased GLA, excluding the GLA of lessee-owned leasehold improvements.
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The following table summarizes lease expirations for leases in place within our Portfolio for each of the next 10 calendar years and thereafter, assuming no exercise of renewal options and including the GLA of lessee-owned leasehold improvements, as of December 31, 2022:
More specific information with respect to each of our properties is set forth in Exhibit 99.1, which is incorporated herein by reference.
Leases
Our anchor tenants generally have leases with original terms ranging from 10 to 20 years and may or may not have renewal options for one or more additional periods. Smaller tenants typically have leases with original terms ranging from five to 10 years and may or may not have renewal options for one or more additional periods. Leases in our Portfolio generally provide for the payment of fixed monthly base rent. Certain leases also provide for the payment of additional rent based upon a percentage of the tenant’s gross sales above a predetermined threshold. Leases also generally provide for contractual increases in base rent over both the original lease term and any renewal option periods and the reimbursement of property operating expenses such as common area expenses, utilities, insurance, and real estate taxes, and certain capital expenditures related to the maintenance of our properties.
The foregoing general description of the characteristics of the leases of our Portfolio is not intended to describe all leases, and material variations in lease terms may exist.
Insurance
We have a wholly owned captive insurance company, Brixmor Incap, LLC (“Incap”). Incap underwrites the first layer of general liability insurance for the properties in our Portfolio. We formed Incap as part of our overall risk management program to stabilize insurance costs, manage exposures, and recoup expenses through the function of the captive program. Incap is capitalized in accordance with the applicable regulatory requirements.
We also maintain commercial liability, fire, extended coverage, earthquake, business interruption, and rental loss insurance covering all of the properties in our Portfolio. We select coverage specifications and insured limits which we believe to be appropriate given the relative risk of loss, the cost of coverage, industry practice, and the nature of the shopping centers in our Portfolio. In addition, tenants are generally required to indemnify and hold us harmless from liabilities resulting from injury to persons or damage to personal or real property on the premises due to activities conducted by tenants or their agents at the properties (including without limitation any environmental contamination), and to obtain liability and property damage insurance policies at the tenant’s expense, kept in full force during the term of the lease. In the opinion of our management, all of the properties in our Portfolio are currently adequately insured. We do not carry insurance for generally uninsured losses, such as losses from war. See “Risk Factors – Risks Related to Our Portfolio and Our Business – An uninsured loss on properties or a loss that exceeds the limits of our insurance policies could result in a loss of our investment or related revenue in those properties.”
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Item 3. Legal Proceedings
The information contained under the heading “Legal Matters” in Note 15 – Commitments and Contingencies to our Consolidated Financial Statements in this report is incorporated by reference into this Item 3.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
Not applicable.
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PART II
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
BPG’s common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the trading symbol “BRX.” As of February 1, 2023, the number of holders of record of BPG’s common stock was 626. This figure does not represent the actual number of beneficial owners of BPG’s common stock because shares of BPG’s common stock are frequently held in “street name” by securities dealers and others for the benefit of beneficial owners who may vote the shares.
BPG has elected to qualify as a REIT in accordance with the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). To qualify as a REIT, BPG must meet several organizational and operational requirements, including a requirement that it annually distribute to its stockholders at least 90% of its REIT taxable income, determined without regard to the deduction for dividends paid and excluding net capital gains. Management intends to continue to satisfy these requirements and maintain BPG’s REIT status. As a REIT, BPG generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax, provided that distributions to its stockholders equal at least the amount of its REIT taxable income as defined under the Code.
BPG’s future distributions will be at the sole discretion of BPG’s board of directors. When determining the amount of future distributions, we expect that BPG’s board of directors will consider, among other factors; (1) the amount of cash generated from our operating activities; (2) the amount of cash required for leasing and maintenance capital expenditures; (3) the amount of cash required for debt repayments, reinvestment activity, net acquisitions, and share repurchases; (4) the amount of cash required to be distributed to maintain BPG’s status as a REIT and to reduce any income and excise taxes that BPG otherwise would be required to pay; (5) any limitations on our distributions contained in our financing agreements, including, without limitation, in our Unsecured Credit Facility; (6) the sufficiency of legally-available assets; and (7) our ability to continue to access external sources of capital.
To the extent BPG is prevented, by provisions in our financing agreements or otherwise, from distributing 100% of BPG’s REIT taxable income, or otherwise does not distribute 100% of BPG’s REIT taxable income, BPG will be subject to income tax, and potentially excise tax, on the retained amounts. If our operations do not generate sufficient cash flow to allow BPG to satisfy the REIT distribution requirements, we may be required to fund distributions with working capital, additional indebtedness, or asset sales, or we may be required to reduce such distributions or make such distributions, in whole or in part, payable in shares of BPG’s stock. See Item 1A. “Risk Factors” for information regarding risk factors that could adversely affect our financial condition, operating results, and cash flows.
Distributions to the extent of the Company’s current and accumulated earnings and profits for federal income tax purposes will be taxable to stockholders as ordinary dividend income or capital gain income. Distributions in excess of taxable earnings and profits generally will be treated as non-taxable return of capital. Non-taxable return of capital distributions, to the extent that they do not exceed the stockholder’s adjusted tax basis in its common shares, have the effect of deferring taxation until the sale of the stockholder’s common shares. To the extent that distributions are both in excess of taxable earnings and profits and in excess of the stockholder’s adjusted tax basis in its common shares, the distributions will be treated as capital gains from the sale of common shares. For the taxable year ended December 31, 2022, 100.0% of the Company’s distributions to stockholders constituted taxable ordinary income. For the taxable year ended December 31, 2021, 91.8% of the Company’s distributions to stockholders constituted taxable ordinary income and 8.2% constituted a return of capital.
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BPG’s Total Stockholder Return Performance
The following performance chart compares, for the period from December 31, 2017 through December 31, 2022, the cumulative total return of BPG’s common stock with the cumulative total return of the S&P 500 Index and the FTSE Nareit Equity Shopping Centers Index. All stockholder return performance assumes the reinvestment of dividends. The information in this paragraph and the following performance chart are deemed to be furnished, not filed.
Sales of Unregistered Equity Securities
There were no sales of unregistered equity securities during the year ended December 31, 2022.
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
On November 1, 2022, we established a new share repurchase program (the “Repurchase Program”) for up to $400.0 million of our common stock. The Repurchase Program is scheduled to expire on November 1, 2025, unless suspended or extended by our board of directors. The Repurchase Program replaced our prior share repurchase program, which was scheduled to expire on January 9, 2023. During the three months and year ended December 31, 2022, we did not repurchase any shares of common stock. As of December 31, 2022, the Repurchase Program had $400.0 million of available repurchase capacity.
Item 6. [Reserved]
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following discussion should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and the accompanying notes thereto. Historical results and percentage relationships set forth in the Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying notes, including trends which might appear, should not be taken as indicative of future operations.
Executive Summary
Our Company
Brixmor Property Group Inc. and subsidiaries (collectively, “BPG”) is an internally-managed corporation that has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust (“REIT”). Brixmor Operating Partnership LP and subsidiaries (collectively, the “Operating Partnership”) is the entity through which BPG conducts substantially all of its operations and owns substantially all of its assets. BPG owns 100% of the limited liability company interests of BPG Subsidiary LLC (“BPG Sub”), which, in turn, is the sole member of Brixmor OP GP LLC (the “General Partner”), the sole general partner of the Operating Partnership. Unless stated otherwise or the context otherwise requires, “we,” “our,” and “us” mean BPG and the Operating Partnership, collectively. We own and operate one of the largest publicly-traded open-air retail portfolios by gross leasable area (“GLA”) in the United States (“U.S.”), comprised primarily of community and neighborhood shopping centers. As of December 31, 2022, our portfolio was comprised of 373 shopping centers (the “Portfolio”) totaling approximately 66 million square feet of GLA. Our high-quality national Portfolio is primarily located within established trade areas in the top 50 Core-Based Statistical Areas in the U.S., and our shopping centers are primarily anchored by non-discretionary and value-oriented retailers, as well as consumer-oriented service providers. As of December 31, 2022, our three largest tenants by annualized base rent (“ABR”) were The TJX Companies, Inc. (“TJX”), The Kroger Co. (“Kroger”), and Burlington Stores, Inc. (“Burlington”). BPG has been organized and operated in conformity with the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT under U.S. federal income tax laws commencing with our taxable year ended December 31, 2011, has maintained such requirements through our taxable year ended December 31, 2022, and intends to satisfy such requirements for subsequent taxable years.
Our primary objective is to maximize total returns to our stockholders through consistent, sustainable growth in cash flow. Our key strategies to achieve this objective include proactively managing our Portfolio to drive internal growth, pursuing value-enhancing reinvestment opportunities, and prudently executing on acquisition and disposition activity, while also maintaining a flexible capital structure positioned for growth. In addition, as we execute on our key strategies, we do so guided by our purpose-driven Corporate Responsibility (“CR”) strategy and our commitment to environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) issues.
We believe the following set of competitive advantages positions us to successfully execute on our key strategies:
•Expansive Retailer Relationships – We believe that the scale of our asset base and our nationwide footprint represent competitive advantages in supporting the growth objectives of the nation’s largest and most successful retailers. We believe that we are one of the largest landlords by GLA to TJX, Kroger, and Burlington, as well as a key landlord to most major grocers and retail category leaders. We believe that our strong relationships with leading retailers afford us unique insight into their strategies and priority access to their expansion plans.
•Fully-Integrated Operating Platform – We manage a fully-integrated operating platform, leveraging our national scope and demonstrating our commitment to operating with a strong regional and local presence. We provide our tenants with dedicated service through both our national accounts leasing team based in New York and our network of four regional offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia and San Diego, as well as our 12 leasing and property management satellite offices throughout the country. We believe that this structure enables us to obtain critical national market intelligence, while also benefiting from the regional and local expertise of our leasing and operations teams.
•Experienced Management – Senior members of our management team are seasoned real estate operators with extensive public company leadership experience. Our management team has deep industry knowledge and well-established relationships with retailers, brokers, and vendors through many years of operational and transactional experience, as well as significant capital markets capabilities and expertise in executing value-enhancing reinvestment opportunities.
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Factors That May Influence Our Future Results
We derive our rental income primarily from base rent and expense reimbursements paid by tenants to us under existing leases at each of our properties. Expense reimbursements primarily consist of payments made by tenants to us for a portion of property operating expenses, such as common area expenses, utilities, insurance, and real estate taxes, and certain capital expenditures related to the maintenance of our properties.
Our ability to maintain or increase rental income is primarily dependent on our ability to maintain or increase rental rates, renew expiring leases, and/or lease available space. Increases in our property operating expenses, including repairs and maintenance, landscaping, snow removal, security, ground rent related to properties for which we are the lessee, utilities, insurance, real estate taxes, and various other costs, to the extent they are not reimbursed by tenants or offset by increases in rental income, will adversely impact our overall performance. See “Forward-Looking Statements” included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information regarding risk factors that could affect our financial condition, operating results, and cash flows.
Leasing Highlights
As of December 31, 2022, billed and leased occupancy were 90.2% and 93.8%, respectively, compared to 88.7% and 92.0%, respectively, as of December 31, 2021.
The following table summarizes our executed leasing activity for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 (dollars in thousands, except for per square foot (“PSF”) amounts):
For the Year Ended December 31, 2022
For the Year Ended December 31, 2021
(1)Based on comparable leases only, which consist of new leases signed on units that were occupied within the prior 12 months and renewal or option leases signed with the same tenant in all or a portion of the same location or that include the expansion into space that was occupied within the prior 12 months.
Excludes leases executed for terms of less than one year.
ABR PSF includes the GLA of lessee-owned leasehold improvements.
Acquisition Activity
•During the year ended December 31, 2022, we acquired seven shopping centers, one outparcel, and one land parcel and paid less than $0.1 million related to previously acquired assets for an aggregate purchase price of $409.7 million, including transaction costs and closing credits.
•During the year ended December 31, 2021, we acquired six shopping centers, one outparcel, and two land parcels for an aggregate purchase price of $258.8 million, including transaction costs and closing credits.
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Disposition Activity
•During the year ended December 31, 2022, we disposed of 16 shopping centers and 10 partial shopping centers for aggregate net proceeds of $277.0 million resulting in aggregate gain of $109.2 million and aggregate impairment of $5.7 million. In addition, during the year ended December 31, 2022, we resolved contingencies related to previously disposed assets and had land at one shopping center seized through eminent domain for aggregate net proceeds of $2.8 million, resulting in aggregate gain of $2.4 million.
•During the year ended December 31, 2021, we disposed of 17 shopping centers and 15 partial shopping centers for aggregate net proceeds of $237.4 million resulting in aggregate gain of $73.1 million and aggregate impairment of $1.9 million. In addition, during the year ended December 31, 2021, we received aggregate net proceeds of less than $0.1 million from previously disposed assets resulting in aggregate gain of less than $0.1 million.
Results of Operations
The results of operations discussion is combined for BPG and the Operating Partnership because there are no material differences in the results of operations between the two reporting entities.
Comparison of the Year Ended December 31, 2022 to the Year Ended December 31, 2021
Revenues (in thousands)
Year Ended December 31,
Revenues
Rental income
The increase in rental income for the year ended December 31, 2022 of $71.1 million, compared to the corresponding period in 2021, was due to a $55.9 million increase for assets owned for the full period and a $15.1 million increase in rental income due to net transaction activity. The increase for assets owned for the full period was due to (i) a $33.6 million increase in base rent; (ii) a $12.1 million increase in expense reimbursements; (iii) a $7.9 million increase in straight-line rental income, net; (iv) a $4.5 million increase in ancillary and other rental income; (v) a $3.1 million increase in percentage rents; and (vi) a $2.6 million increase associated with revenues deemed uncollectible; partially offset by (vii) a $5.5 million decrease in lease termination fees; and (viii) a $2.4 million decrease in accretion of below-market leases, net of amortization of above-market leases and tenant improvements. The $33.6 million increase in base rent for assets owned for the full period was primarily due to contractual rent increases, positive rent spreads for new and renewal leases and option exercises of 12.7% during the year ended December 31, 2022 and 10.1% during the year ended December 31, 2021, an increase in weighted average billed occupancy, and a decrease in rent deferrals accounted for as lease modifications and rent abatements related to COVID-19. The $12.1 million increase in expense reimbursements was primarily attributable to increases in billed occupancy, reimbursable operating expenses, and real estate taxes.
Other revenues
The decrease in other revenues for the year ended December 31, 2022 of $5.3 million, compared to the corresponding period in 2021, was primarily due to a decrease in tax increment financing income.
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Operating Expenses (in thousands)
Year Ended December 31,
Operating expenses
Operating costs
The increase in operating costs for the year ended December 31, 2022 of $9.4 million, compared to the corresponding period in 2021, was due to a $7.7 million increase for assets owned for the full period primarily due to increases in repairs and maintenance, utilities, and insurance costs, in addition to a $1.7 million increase in operating costs due to net transaction activity.
Real estate taxes
The increase in real estate taxes for the year ended December 31, 2022 of $4.6 million, compared to the corresponding period in 2021, was primarily due to a $2.7 million increase due to net transaction activity and a $1.9 million increase for assets owned for the full period, primarily due to an increase in current year assessments.
Depreciation and amortization
The increase in depreciation and amortization for the year ended December 31, 2022 of $17.6 million, compared to the corresponding period in 2021, was primarily due to a $14.9 million increase attributable to net transaction activity, and a $2.7 million increase for assets owned for the full period, primarily due to capital expenditures, partially offset by accelerated depreciation and amortization related to tenant move-outs.
Impairment of real estate assets
During the year ended December 31, 2022, aggregate impairment of $5.7 million was recognized on two shopping centers and one partial shopping center as a result of disposition activity. During the year ended December 31, 2021, aggregate impairment of $1.9 million was recognized on two shopping centers as a result of disposition activity.
General and administrative
The increase in general and administrative costs for the year ended December 31, 2022 of $11.8 million, compared to the corresponding period in 2021, was primarily due to an increase in net compensation costs, marketing expenses, and travel and entertainment costs, partially offset by decreases in litigation and other non-routine legal, professional, office, and other expenses.
During the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, construction compensation costs of $17.5 million and $16.6 million, respectively, were capitalized to building and improvements and leasing legal costs of $4.1 million and $2.5 million, respectively, and leasing commission costs of $7.9 million and $6.8 million, respectively, were capitalized to deferred charges and prepaid expenses, net.
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Other Income and Expenses (in thousands)
Year Ended December 31,
Other income (expense)
Dividends and interest
Dividends and interest remained generally consistent for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to the corresponding period in 2021.
Interest expense
The decrease in interest expense for the year ended December 31, 2022 of $2.3 million, compared to the corresponding period in 2021, was primarily due to lower overall debt obligations, partially offset by a higher weighted average interest rate.
Gain on sale of real estate assets
During the year ended December 31, 2022, we disposed of 14 shopping centers and nine partial shopping centers that resulted in aggregate gain of $109.2 million. In addition, during the year ended December 31, 2022, we resolved contingencies related to previously disposed assets and had land at one shopping center seized through eminent domain resulting in aggregate net proceeds of $2.8 million, resulting in aggregate gain of $2.4 million. During the year ended December 31, 2021, we disposed of 16 shopping centers and 15 partial shopping centers that resulted in aggregate gain of $73.1 million. In addition, during the year ended December 31, 2021, we received aggregate net proceeds of less than $0.1 million from previously disposed assets resulting in aggregate gain of less than $0.1 million.
Loss on extinguishment of debt, net
During the year ended December 31, 2022, we amended and restated our unsecured credit facility effective April 28, 2022 (the "Unsecured Credit Facility"), which is comprised of a $1.25 billion revolving credit facility (the "Revolving Facility") and a $300.0 million term loan, in addition to a new $200.0 million delayed draw term loan (together, the "Term Loan Facility"), resulting in a $0.2 million loss on extinguishment of debt due to the acceleration of unamortized debt issuance costs. During the year ended December 31, 2021, we redeemed all $500.0 million of our 3.250% Senior Notes due 2023 and repaid $350.0 million of an unsecured term loan under our Unsecured Credit Facility, resulting in a $28.3 million loss on extinguishment of debt. Loss on extinguishment of debt includes $25.5 million of prepayment fees and $2.8 million of accelerated unamortized debt issuance costs and debt discounts.
Other
The increase in other expense for the year ended December 31, 2022 of $3.6 million, compared to the corresponding period in 2021, was primarily due to favorable tax adjustments and legal settlements in the prior year and an increase in transaction costs in the current year.
Comparison of the Year Ended December 31, 2021 to the Year Ended December 31, 2020
See Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on February 7, 2022, for a discussion of the comparison of the year ended December 31, 2021 to the year ended December 31, 2020.
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Liquidity and Capital Resources
We anticipate that our cash flows from the sources listed below will provide adequate capital for the next 12 months and beyond for all anticipated uses, including all scheduled payments on our outstanding debt, current and anticipated tenant and other capital improvements, stockholder distributions, including those required to maintain our qualification as a REIT, and other obligations associated with conducting our business.
Our primary expected sources and uses of capital are as follows:
Sources
•cash and cash equivalent balances;
•operating cash flow;
•available borrowings under the Unsecured Credit Facility;
•issuance of long-term debt;
•dispositions; and
•issuance of equity securities.
Uses
•debt repayments
•maintenance capital expenditures;
•leasing capital expenditures;
•value-enhancing reinvestment capital expenditures;
•dividend/distribution payments;
•acquisitions; and
•repurchases of equity securities.
We believe our capital structure provides us with the financial flexibility and capacity to fund our current capital needs as well as future growth opportunities. We generate significant operating cash flow and have access to multiple forms of external capital, including secured property level debt, unsecured corporate level debt, preferred equity, and common equity, which will allow us to efficiently execute on our strategic and operational objectives. We have investment grade credit ratings from all three major credit rating agencies. As of December 31, 2022, we had $1.35 billion of available liquidity, including $1.32 billion under our Unsecured Credit Facility and $21.3 million of cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash. We intend to continue to enhance our financial and operational flexibility through periodic extensions of the duration of our debt.
Material Cash Requirements
Our expected material cash requirements for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023 and thereafter are comprised of (i) contractually obligated expenditures; (ii) other essential expenditures; and (iii) opportunistic expenditures.
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Contractually Obligated Expenditures
The following table summarizes our debt maturities (excluding extension options), interest payment obligations, and obligations under non-cancelable operating leases (excluding renewal options), as of December 31, 2022 (dollars in millions):
Debt maturities (1) $ — $ 5,043.5
(1) Amounts presented do not assume the issuance of new debt upon maturity of existing debt.
(2) Scheduled interest payments included in these amounts for variable rate loans are presented using rates (including the impact of interest rate swaps), as of December 31, 2022. See Item 7A. “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk” for a further discussion of these and other factors that could impact interest payments
Other Essential Expenditures
We incur certain essential expenditures in the ordinary course of business, such as common area expenses, utilities, insurance, real estate taxes, capital expenditures related to the maintenance of our properties, leasing capital expenditures, and corporate level expenses. The amount of common area expenses, utilities, and capital expenditures related to the maintenance of our properties that we incur depends on the scope of services that we provide, prevailing market rates, and the size and composition of our Portfolio. We carry comprehensive insurance to protect our Portfolio against various losses. The amount of insurance expense that we incur depends on the assessed values of our properties, prevailing market rates, changes in risk generally, and the size and composition of our Portfolio. We incur real estate taxes in the various jurisdictions in which we operate. The amount of real estate taxes that we incur depends on the assessed values of our properties, the tax rates assessed by various jurisdictions, and the size and composition of our Portfolio. Leasing capital expenditures represent tenant specific costs incurred to lease or renew space, including tenant improvements, tenant allowances, and external leasing commissions. The amount of leasing capital expenditures that we incur depends on the volume and nature of leasing activity. Leases typically provide for the reimbursement of property operating expenses such as common area expenses, utilities, insurance, and real estate taxes, and certain capital expenditures related to the maintenance of our properties. However, costs that we incur generally do not decrease if revenue or occupancy decreases, and certain costs that we incur are not typically reimbursed.
In order to continue to qualify as a REIT for federal income tax purposes, we must meet several organizational and operational requirements, including a requirement that we annually distribute to our stockholders at least 90% of our REIT taxable income, determined without regard to the deduction for dividends paid and excluding net capital gains. We intend to continue to satisfy these requirements and maintain our REIT status. Our board of directors evaluates our dividend on a quarterly basis, taking into account a variety of relevant factors, including REIT taxable income. The following table summarizes our dividend activity for the fourth quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023:
Dividend declared per common share $ 0.260 $ 0.260
Dividend declaration date October 25, 2022 February 1, 2023
Opportunistic Expenditures
We also utilize cash for opportunistic expenditures such as value-enhancing reinvestment and acquisition activity.
The amount of value-enhancing reinvestment capital expenditures that we may incur in future periods is contingent on a variety of factors that may change from period to period, such as the number, total expected cost, and nature of value-enhancing reinvestment projects that are underway. See “Improvements to and investments in real estate assets” below for further information regarding our in-process reinvestment projects and our pipeline of future redevelopment projects.
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The amount of future acquisition activity depends on the availability of opportunities that further concentrate our Portfolio in attractive retail submarkets and optimize the quality and long-term growth rate of our asset base. Our acquisition strategy focuses on buying assets with strong growth potential that are located in our existing markets and will allow us to leverage our operational platform and expertise to create value. Our acquisition activity may include acquisitions of open-air shopping centers, non-owned anchor spaces, and retail buildings and/or outparcels at, or adjacent to, our shopping centers.
Our cash flow activities are summarized as follows (dollars in thousands):
Brixmor Property Group Inc.
Year Ended December 31,
Brixmor Operating Partnership LP
Year Ended December 31,
Operating Activities
Net cash provided by operating activities primarily consists of cash inflows from tenant rental payments and expense reimbursements and cash outflows for property operating expenses, general and administrative expenses, and interest expense.
During the year ended December 31, 2022, our net cash provided by operating activities increased $14.1 million compared to the corresponding period in 2021. The increase was primarily due to (i) an increase in same property net operating income; (ii) an increase in net operating income due to net transaction activity; and (iii) a decrease in cash outflows for interest expense; partially offset by (iv) a decrease from net working capital; (v) a decrease in other non-same property net operating income; (vi) an increase in cash outflows for general and administrative expense; and (vii) a decrease in lease termination fees.
Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities primarily is impacted by the nature, timing, and magnitude of acquisition and disposition activity and improvements to and investments in our shopping centers, including capital expenditures associated with our value-enhancing reinvestment activity.
During the year ended December 31, 2022, our net cash used in investing activities increased $131.4 million compared to the corresponding period in 2021. The increase was primarily due to (i) an increase of $150.9 million in acquisitions of real estate assets; (ii) an increase of $21.7 million in improvements to and investments in real estate assets; and (iii) an increase of $1.2 million in purchases of marketable securities, net of proceeds from sales; partially offset by (iv) an increase of $42.4 million in net proceeds from sales of real estate assets.
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Improvements to and investments in real estate assets
During the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, we expended $330.4 million and $308.6 million, respectively, on improvements to and investments in real estate assets. These amounts are net of insurance proceeds of $7.7 million and $3.3 million, respectively, which were received during the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021.
Maintenance capital expenditures represent costs to fund major replacements and betterments to our properties. Leasing related capital expenditures represent tenant specific costs incurred to lease space, including tenant improvements, tenant allowances, and external leasing commissions. In addition, we evaluate our Portfolio on an ongoing basis to identify value-enhancing reinvestment opportunities. Such initiatives are tenant driven and focus on upgrading our centers with strong, best-in-class retailers and enhancing the overall merchandise mix and tenant quality of our Portfolio. As of December 31, 2022, we had 48 in-process anchor space repositioning, redevelopment and outparcel development projects with an aggregate anticipated cost of $342.9 million, of which $182.4 million had been incurred as of December 31, 2022. In addition, we have identified a pipeline of future redevelopment projects aggregating approximately $1.0 billion of potential capital investment, which we expect to execute over the coming years. We expect to fund these projects with cash and cash equivalents, net cash provided by operating activities, proceeds from sales of real estate assets, and/or proceeds from capital markets transactions.
Acquisitions of and proceeds from sales of real estate assets
We continue to evaluate the market for acquisition opportunities and we may acquire shopping centers when we believe strategic opportunities exist. During the year ended December 31, 2022, we acquired seven shopping centers, one outparcel, and one land parcel for an aggregate purchase price of $409.7 million, including transaction costs and closing credits. During the year ended December 31, 2021, we acquired six shopping centers, one outparcel and two land parcels for an aggregate purchase price of $258.8 million, including transaction costs and closing credits.
We may also dispose of properties when we believe value has been maximized, where there may be future downside risk, or where we have limited ability or desire to build critical mass in a particular submarket. During the year ended December 31, 2022, we disposed of 16 shopping centers and 10 partial shopping centers for aggregate net proceeds of $277.0 million. In addition, during the year ended December 31, 2022, we resolved contingencies related to previously disposed assets and had land at one shopping center seized through eminent domain for aggregate net proceeds of $2.8 million. During the year ended December 31, 2021, we disposed of 17 shopping centers and 15 partial shopping centers for aggregate net proceeds of $237.4 million. In addition, during the year ended December 31, 2021, we received aggregate net proceeds of less than $0.1 million from previously disposed assets.
Financing Activities
Net cash used in financing activities is primarily impacted by the nature, timing, and magnitude of issuances and repurchases of debt and equity securities, as well as borrowings or principal payments associated with our outstanding indebtedness, including our Unsecured Credit Facility, and distributions made to our common stockholders.
During the year ended December 31, 2022, our net cash used in financing activities increased $86.8 million compared to the corresponding period in 2021. The increase was primarily due to (i) a $122.7 million increase in debt repayments, net of borrowings; (ii) a $32.4 million increase in distributions to our common stockholders; and (iii) a $5.0 million increase in repurchases of common stock; partially offset by (iv) a $48.0 million increase in issuances of common stock; and (v) a $25.3 million decrease in deferred financing and debt extinguishment costs.
Non-GAAP Performance Measures
We present the non-GAAP performance measures set forth below. These measures should not be considered as alternatives to, or more meaningful than, net income (calculated in accordance with GAAP) or other GAAP financial measures, as an indicator of financial performance and are not alternatives to, or more meaningful than, cash flow from operating activities (calculated in accordance with GAAP) as a measure of liquidity. Non-GAAP performance measures have limitations as they do not include all items of income and expense that affect operations, and accordingly, should always be considered supplemental financial measures to those calculated in accordance with GAAP. Our computation of these non-GAAP performance measures may differ in certain respects from the methodology utilized by other REITs and, therefore, may not be comparable to similarly titled measures presented
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by such other REITs. Investors are cautioned that items excluded from these non-GAAP performance measures are relevant to understanding and addressing financial performance.
Funds From Operations
Nareit FFO (defined hereafter) is a supplemental, non-GAAP performance measure utilized to evaluate the operating and financial performance of real estate companies. Nareit defines funds from operations (“FFO”) as net income (loss), calculated in accordance with GAAP, excluding (i) depreciation and amortization related to real estate, (ii) gains and losses from the sale of certain real estate assets, (iii) gains and losses from change in control, (iv) impairment write-downs of certain real estate assets and investments in entities when the impairment is directly attributable to decreases in the value of depreciable real estate held by the entity and (v) after adjustments for unconsolidated joint ventures calculated to reflect FFO on the same basis.
Considering the nature of our business as a real estate owner and operator, we believe that Nareit FFO is useful to investors in measuring our operating and financial performance because the definition excludes items included in net income that do not relate to or are not indicative of our operating and financial performance, such as depreciation and amortization related to real estate, and items which can make periodic and peer analyses of operating and financial performance more difficult, such as gains and losses from the sale of certain real estate assets and impairment write-downs of certain real estate assets.
Our reconciliation of net income to Nareit FFO for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 is as follows (in thousands, except per share amounts):
Year Ended December 31,
Depreciation and amortization related to real estate 340,561 323,354
Impairment of real estate assets 5,724 1,898
Nareit FFO per diluted share $ 1.95 $ 1.75
Same Property Net Operating Income
Same property net operating income (“NOI”) is a supplemental, non-GAAP performance measure utilized to evaluate the operating performance of real estate companies. Same property NOI is calculated (using properties owned for the entirety of both periods and excluding properties under development and completed new development properties that have been stabilized for less than one year) as total property revenues (base rent, expense reimbursements, adjustments for revenues deemed uncollectible, ancillary and other rental income, percentage rents, and other revenues) less direct property operating expenses (operating costs and real estate taxes). Same property NOI excludes (i) lease termination fees, (ii) straight-line rental income, net, (iii) accretion of below-market leases, net of amortization of above-market leases and tenant inducements, (iv) straight-line ground rent expense, net, (v) income or expense associated with our captive insurance company, (vi) depreciation and amortization, (vii) impairment of real estate assets, (viii) general and administrative expense, and (ix) other income and expense (including interest expense and gain on sale of real estate assets).
Considering the nature of our business as a real estate owner and operator, we believe that same property NOI is useful to investors in measuring the operating performance of our portfolio because the definition excludes various items included in net income that do not relate to, or are not indicative of, the operating performance of our properties, such as lease termination fees, straight-line rental income, net, accretion of below-market leases, net of amortization of above-market leases and tenant inducements, straight-line ground rent expense, net, income or expense associated with our captive insurance company, depreciation and amortization, impairment of real estate assets, general and administrative expense, and other income and expense (including interest expense and gain on sale of real estate assets). We believe that same property NOI is also useful to investors because it further eliminates disparities in NOI due to the acquisition or disposition of properties or the stabilization of completed new development properties during the periods presented and therefore provides a more consistent metric for comparing the operating performance of our real estate between periods.
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Comparison of the Year Ended December 31, 2022 to the Year Ended December 31, 2021
Year Ended December 31,
Revenues
Operating expenses
The following table provides a reconciliation of net income to same property NOI for the periods presented (in thousands):
Year Ended December 31,
Adjustments:
Straight-line ground rent expense 160 134
Impairment of real estate assets 5,724 1,898
Our Critical Accounting Estimates
Our discussion and analysis of our historical financial condition and operating results is based upon our Consolidated Financial Statements, which have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could ultimately differ from those estimates. The following accounting estimates are considered critical because they are particularly dependent on management’s judgment about matters that have a significant level of uncertainty at the time the accounting estimates are made, and changes to those estimates could have a material impact on our financial condition or operating results.
Revenue Recognition and Receivables - Estimating Collectability
We enter into agreements with tenants that convey the right to control the use of identified space at our shopping centers in exchange for rental revenue. These agreements meet the criteria for recognition as leases under Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 842, Leases. Rental revenue is recognized on a straight-line basis over the terms of the related leases. The cumulative difference between rental revenue recognized on our Consolidated Statements of Operations and contractual payment terms is recognized as deferred rent and included in Receivables, net on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. We commence recognizing rental revenue based on the date we make the underlying asset available for use by the tenant. Leases also typically provide for the reimbursement of property operating expenses, including common area expenses, utilities, insurance, and real estate taxes, and certain capital
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expenditures related to the maintenance of our properties, by the lessee and are recognized in the period the applicable expenditures are incurred and/or contractually required to be reimbursed.
We periodically evaluate the collectability of our receivables related to rental revenue, straight-line rent, expense reimbursements, and those attributable to other revenue generating activities. We analyze individual tenant receivables and consider tenant credit-worthiness, the length of time a receivable has been outstanding, and current economic trends when evaluating collectability. In 2022 and 2021, our evaluation included consideration of the impact of COVID-19 on the collectability of our receivables. This assessment involved significant judgment regarding the severity and duration of the disruption caused by COVID-19, as well as judgment regarding which industries and tenants would be most significantly impacted. Any receivables that are deemed to be uncollectible are recognized as a reduction to Rental income on our Consolidated Statements of Operations.
Real Estate - Estimates Related to Valuing Acquired Assets and Liabilities
Real estate assets are recognized on our Consolidated Balance Sheets at historical cost, less accumulated depreciation and amortization. Upon acquisition of real estate operating properties, we estimate the fair value of acquired tangible assets (consisting of land, buildings, and tenant improvements) and identifiable intangible assets and liabilities (consisting of above- and below-market leases and in-place leases) based on an evaluation of available information. Transaction costs incurred during the acquisition process are capitalized as a component of the asset’s value.
The fair value of tangible assets is determined as if the acquired property is vacant. Fair value is determined using an exit price approach, which contemplates the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date.
In allocating fair value to identifiable intangible assets and liabilities, the value of above-market and below-market leases is estimated based on the present value (using a discount rate reflecting the risks associated with the leases acquired) of the difference between: (i) the contractual amounts to be paid pursuant to the leases negotiated and in-place at the time of acquisition and (ii) management’s estimate of fair market lease rates for the property or an equivalent property, measured over a period equal to the lesser of 30 years or the remaining non-cancelable term of the leases, which includes renewal periods with fixed rental terms that are considered to be below-market. The capitalized above-market or below-market intangibles are amortized as a reduction of, or increase to, rental income over the remaining non-cancelable term of the leases.
The value of in-place leases is estimated based on management’s evaluation of the specific characteristics of each tenant lease, including: (i) fair market rent and the reimbursement of property operating expenses, including common area expenses, utilities, insurance, real estate taxes, and certain capital expenditures related to the maintenance of our properties, that would be forgone during a hypothetical expected lease-up period and (ii) costs that would be incurred, including leasing commissions, legal and marketing costs, and tenant improvements and allowances, to execute similar leases. The value assigned to in-place leases is amortized to depreciation and amortization expense over the remaining term of each lease.
Real Estate - Estimates Related to Impairments
We periodically assess whether there are any indicators, including property operating performance, changes in anticipated hold period, and general market conditions, that the carrying value of our real estate assets (including any related intangible assets or liabilities) may be impaired. If an indicator is identified, a real estate asset is considered impaired only if our estimate of aggregate future undiscounted and unleveraged property operating cash flows, taking into account the anticipated probability-weighted hold period, is less than the carrying value of the property. Various factors are considered in the estimation process that are subject to significant management judgment, including the anticipated hold period, current and/or future reinvestment projects, and the effects of demand and competition on future operating income and/or property values. Changes in any estimates and/or assumptions, particularly the anticipated hold period, could have a material impact on the projected operating cash flows. If management determines that the carrying value of a real estate asset is impaired, an impairment charge is recognized to reflect the estimated fair value of the asset.
When we identify a real estate asset as held for sale, we discontinue depreciating the asset and estimate its sales price, net of estimated selling costs. If the estimated net sales price of an asset is less than its net carrying value, an impairment charge is recognized to reflect the estimated fair value of the asset.
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Inflation
Prior to 2021, inflation was low and had a minimal impact on our operating and financial performance; however, inflation significantly increased over the last two years and may continue to be elevated or increase further. With respect to our shopping centers, our long-term leases generally contain provisions designed to mitigate the adverse impact of inflation, including contractual rent escalations and requirements for tenants to pay a portion of property operating expenses, including common area expenses, utilities, insurance, and real estate taxes, and certain capital expenditures related to the maintenance of our properties, thereby reducing our exposure to increases in property operating expenses resulting from inflation; however, we have exposure to increases in certain non-reimbursable property operating expenses, including expenses incurred on vacant units. We believe that many of our existing rental rates are below current market rates for comparable space and that upon renewal or re-leasing, such rates may be increased to be consistent with, or closer to, current market rates, which may also offset certain inflationary expense pressures. With respect to our outstanding indebtedness, we periodically evaluate our exposure to interest rate fluctuations, and have and may continue to enter into interest rate protection agreements that mitigate, but do not eliminate, the impact of changes in interest rates on our variable rate loans. With respect to general and administrative costs, we continually seek opportunities to offset inflationary cost pressures through routine evaluations of our spending levels and through ongoing efforts to utilize technology to enhance our operational efficiency.
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Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
We may be exposed to interest rate changes primarily as a result of long-term debt used to fund operations and capital expenditures. Our use of derivative instruments is intended to manage our exposure to interest rate movements.
With regard to variable-rate financing, we assess interest rate risk by continually identifying and monitoring changes in interest rate exposures that may adversely impact expected future cash flows and by evaluating hedging opportunities. We maintain risk management control systems to monitor interest rate cash flow risk attributable to both our outstanding and forecasted debt obligations, as well as our potential offsetting hedge positions. Our risk management control systems involve the use of analytical techniques, including cash flow sensitivity analysis, to estimate the expected impact of changes in interest rates on our future cash flows.
We may use derivative financial instruments to hedge exposures to changes in interest rates. To the extent we do, we are exposed to market and credit risk. Market risk is the adverse effect on the value of the financial instrument that results from a change in interest rates. Market risk associated with derivative instruments is managed by establishing and monitoring parameters that limit the types and degree of market risk that may be undertaken. Credit risk is the failure of the counterparty to perform under the terms of the derivative contract. When the fair value of the derivative instrument is positive, the counterparty owes us, which creates credit risk to us. The credit risk associated with derivative instruments is managed by entering into transactions with a variety of highly-rated counterparties.
As of December 31, 2022, we had $425.0 million outstanding variable-rate indebtedness which bears interest at a rate equal to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate ("SOFR") plus credit spreads and reference rate adjustments ranging from 114 basis points to 129 basis points. We have interest rate swap agreements on $300.0 million of our variable-rate indebtedness, which effectively convert the base rate on the indebtedness from variable to fixed. If market rates of interest on our variable-rate debt increased or decreased by 100 basis points, the change in annual interest expense on our variable-rate debt would decrease earnings and cash flows by approximately $1.3 million or increase earnings and cash flows by approximately $1.3 million, respectively, after taking into account the impact of the $300.0 million of interest rate swap agreements.
The table below presents the maturity profile, weighted average interest rates and fair value of total debt as of December 31, 2022. The table has limited predictive value as average interest rates for variable-rate debt included in the table represent rates that existed as of December 31, 2022 and are subject to change. Furthermore, the table below incorporates only those exposures that existed as of December 31, 2022 and does not consider exposures or positions that may have arisen or expired after that date. As a result, our ultimate realized gain or loss with respect to interest rate fluctuations will depend on the exposures that arise during future periods, our hedging strategies at that time, and actual interest rates.
Unsecured Debt
Weighted average interest rate(1)(2) 4.27 % 4.27 % 4.27 % 3.78 % — % — %
(1) Weighted average interest rates include the impact of our interest rate swap agreements and are calculated based on the total debt balances as of the end of each year, assuming the repayment of debt on its scheduled maturity date.
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(2) The interest rates on our variable rate Unsecured Credit Facility are based on credit rating grids. The credit rating grids and all-in-rates on outstanding variable rate debt as of December 31, 2022 are as follows:
Credit Spread Grid
As of December 31, 2022 SOFR Rate Loans Base Rate Loans
(1) Our Revolving Facility and Term Loan Facility include a sustainability metric incentive which can reduce the applicable credit spread by up to two basis points. As of December 31, 2022, we qualified for a one basis point reduction to the applicable credit spread, which is included in the credit spreads presented above.
(2) Our Revolving Facility is further subject to a facility fee ranging from 0.13% to 0.30%, which is excluded from the all-in-rate presented above.
(3) Our Term Loan Facility is further subject to a ticking fee on the additional $200.0 million delayed draw of 0.25%, which is excluded from the all-in-rate presented above.
(3) We have in place four interest rate swap agreements that convert the variable interest rate on one variable rate debt instrument to a fixed rate. The balance subject to interest rates swaps as of December 31, 2022 is as follows (dollars in thousands):
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
See the Index to Consolidated Financial Statements and financial statements commencing on page F-1.
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
None.
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures
Controls and Procedures (Brixmor Property Group Inc.)
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
BPG maintains disclosure controls and procedures (as that term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in its reports under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosures. BPG’s management, with the participation of its principal executive officer and principal financial officer, has evaluated the effectiveness of the design and operation of its disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this report. Based on this evaluation, BPG’s principal executive officer, James M. Taylor, and principal financial officer, Angela Aman, concluded that BPG’s disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of December 31, 2022.
Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
BPG’s management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of BPG’s financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. BPG’s internal control over financial reporting includes policies and procedures that pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of BPG’s assets; provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of BPG are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of BPG; and provide reasonable assurance
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regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of its assets that could have a material effect on BPG’s financial statements.
All internal control systems, no matter how well designed, have inherent limitations. Therefore, even those systems determined to be effective can provide only reasonable assurance and may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
Under the supervision and with the participation of its management, including its principal executive officer and principal financial officer, BPG conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting based on the framework in Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (“COSO”) of the Treadway Commission. Based on its assessment and those criteria, BPG’s management concluded that its internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2022.
Deloitte & Touche LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, has issued a report, included herein, on the effectiveness of BPG’s internal control over financial reporting.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There have been no changes in BPG’s internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) during the three months ended December 31, 2022 that have materially affected, or that are reasonably likely to materially affect, BPG’s internal control over financial reporting.
Controls and Procedures (Brixmor Operating Partnership LP)
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
The Operating Partnership maintains disclosure controls and procedures (as that term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in its reports under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosures. The Operating Partnership’s management, with the participation of its principal executive officer and principal financial officer, has evaluated the effectiveness of the design and operation of its disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this report. Based on this evaluation, the Operating Partnership’s principal executive officer, James M. Taylor, and principal financial officer, Angela Aman, concluded that the Operating Partnership’s disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of December 31, 2022.
Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
The Operating Partnership’s management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of the Operating Partnership’s financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. The Operating Partnership’s internal control over financial reporting includes policies and procedures that pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the Operating Partnership’s assets; provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the Operating Partnership are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the Operating Partnership; and provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of its assets that could have a material effect on the Operating Partnership’s financial statements.
All internal control systems, no matter how well designed, have inherent limitations. Therefore, even those systems determined to be effective can provide only reasonable assurance and may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
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Under the supervision and with the participation of its management, including its principal executive officer and principal financial officer, the Operating Partnership conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting based on the framework in Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the COSO of the Treadway Commission. Based on its assessment and those criteria, the Operating Partnership’s management concluded that its internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2022.
Deloitte & Touche LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, has issued a report, included herein, on the effectiveness of the Operating Partnership’s internal control over financial reporting.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There have been no changes in the Operating Partnership’s internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) during the three months ended December 31, 2022 that have materially affected, or that are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Operating Partnership’s internal control over financial reporting.
Item 9B. Other Information
None.
Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections
Not applicable.
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PART III