Bankrupt Bed Bath and Beyond Inc.’s real estate advisor A&> Real Estate Partners plans to auction hundreds of the home goods retailer and buybuy BABY’s leases as part of the company’s Chapter 11.
A&> Real Estate Partners announced the plan, which is subject to court approval of bid procedures, on Tuesday. Bed Bath & Beyond BBBYQ, -12.80%, a sometime meme stock darling, filed for Chapter 11 last month.
The leases are at “well-located shopping centers across the country,” according to an A&> statement. The real estate advisory firm and JLL Commercial Real Estate also plan to market a Bed Bath & Beyond-owned data center in Claremont, North Carolina, as well as leases for warehouses and distribution centers.
Also read: Bed Bath & Beyond: From home-goods behemoth to bankruptcy
The Bed Bath & Beyond stores, which are located in 48 states and the District of Columbia, range in size from 18,000 to 92,000 square feet, according to A&>. The buybuy BABY stores, which are located in 37 states, range from 14,000 to 63,000 square feet.
“Landlords are among the likeliest bidders for these leases,” said A&> Senior Managing Director Mike Matlat, in the statement. “They’re looking forward to getting vacant spaces back, either to backfill them with single large-format tenants or subdivide them and re-lease them to multiple, smaller operators.”
Warehouse and data center locations range in size from 189,000 to more than 1 million square feet, according to A&>, and are available in six states: California, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Nevada, New Jersey and Texas.
Bed Bath & Beyond bankruptcy: These retailers could pick up the company’s bones
“Several of these well-located facilities boast below-market, fixed-rent leases with one or more renewal options,” Matlat said. “They represent a strong opportunity for users or investors who are eager to capitalize on the existing rent spreads.”
Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond began trading over the counter last week after the Nasdaq started the delisting process for the bankrupt retailer. Trading under the ticker BBBYQ, the stock opened at 7.5 cents on its first day of over-the-counter trading. The stock ended Tuesday’s session down 12.8% at 21.6 cents.
Bed Bath & Beyond’s bankruptcy came after a troubled couple of years marked by strategic missteps, cash burn, challenging underlying business trends and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This article was originally published by Marketwatch.com. Read the original article here.
