Leyad, a real estate investment and development firm, says it has completed more than 600,000 square feet of leasing over the past 12 months across 102 separate transactions, many within spaces that had remained vacant for years.
These results reflect a deliberate strategy that challenges traditional retail assumptions and embraces the evolving role of shopping centres as multi-purpose community hubs, said the company.
“Retail today is not a single category. It’s a mix of necessity, service, experience, and community,” said Henry Zavriyev, CEO of Leyad. “Our leasing strategy reflects that reality.”
Following the Hudson’s Bay Company bankruptcy, Leyad said it acted swiftly to stabilize and reposition affected assets. Of the 323,000 square feet previously occupied by HBC, committed occupancy now stands at 82.7% less than 12 months later, reflecting both market resilience and leasing execution, it explained.
“New tenancy will include a blend of grocery anchors, necessity-based retailers, and experiential uses, aligned with long-term traffic generation and community needs,” said the company.
Leyad said it continues to strengthen its commercial platform through disciplined capital allocation and market awareness:
- Ownership of retail assets across seven provinces: Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick
- Grocery tenants such as Loblaws, Sobeys & Metro now represent nearly 10% of Leyad’s total retail portfolio, enhancing defensive income characteristics.
- Ownership of 631,000 sq. ft. of retail in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, located approximately 135 km from one of the world’s largest newly identified alumina reserve discoveries
- Successful disposition of a single-tenant asset to Costco Wholesale Corporation, achieving an almost 50% increase in value in under one year
Leyad said it recently launched Shopping.Leyad.ca, a centralized digital platform showcasing its national shopping centre portfolio.
In parallel, the firm has implemented proprietary AI-driven analytics to enhance operational decision-making, including:
- Foot traffic and dwell-time tracking
- Shopping pattern and customer behavior analysis
- Asset-level reporting to better tailor tenant mix and community offerings
“These tools allow Leyad to proactively respond to the specific needs of each market it serves and provide meaningful feedback and analytics to the tenants they house,” said the company.
To support continued growth, Leyad said it has made several key senior hires:
- Matthew Peris, Vice President, Operations – formerly of Westcliff, bringing over a decade of institutional retail experience
- Katy Sedaghatian, Vice President, Accounting – formerly of BTB REIT, with more than 20 years of financial leadership in commercial real estate
More from Retail Insider:
