Retail Realtor Buys 15 Mass. White Hen Pantry Units in Sale-Leaseback Deal

BURLINGTON, Mass -- Linear Retail Properties, LLC here said Friday that it bought 15 retail properties occupied by White Hen Pantry stores in eastern Massachusetts for $12.3 million, among them 14 freestanding stores and one multi-tenanted location.

Linear Retail purchased the properties from New England Pantry, Inc., which operates all 55 White Hen Pantry locations in the New England region. The 15 store locations were then leased back by New England Pantry under long-term leases.

The stores are in Winthrop, Revere, Everett, Lynn, Newburyport, West Roxbury, Lawrence, Lowell, Haverhill, West Harwich, Natick, Shrewsbury, and Pepperell, with two in Worcester.

"We were talking to New England Pantry about opening a new store in one of our properties, and our conversations evolved into this mutually beneficial sale-leaseback transaction for their portfolio of owned properties," said Linear Retail president and c.e.o. Bill Beckeman in a statement. "We were impressed by New England Pantry's operations, the great locations they owned and the strong sales performance of these stores. With $200 million still to invest, we had immediate interest in pursuing a portfolio transaction with New England Pantry and hope to do more just like it with other retailers."

Added New England Pantry c.e.o. Andy Brothers: "We weren't seeking to sell our properties, but when Linear Retail showed us how we could take advantage of the strong retail real estate market and free up capital to allow us to accelerate our expansion, we reconsidered...Now we can focus more energy on opening new stores, including a new White Hen Pantry at Centre Street Village in Danvers, Mass., another property owned by Linear Retail."
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