FAM Real Estate Investment Trust announced it will purchase seven office properties in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) from Slate GTA Suburban Office Inc. for $190 million.

The portfolio will comprise about 1.1 million square feet of gross leasable area in submarkets within the GTA, which are more than 90 per cent leased.

Properties include three in Mississauga, three in Toronto and Markham’s Woodbine Complex—the largest of the group.

FAM believes the assets offer potential growth through rental increases, below market rents and near-term leasing opportunities, as well as lay the foundation for future expansion.

“Since our IPO, the REIT has made three of its four acquisitions in the office sector and these properties are complementary to our current office portfolio,” said Gary Samuel, chairman of the special committee of independent Trustees of FAM. “We believe the acquisition properties are high quality assets with significant embedded cash flow growth located in mature GTA commercial real estate nodes.”

Blair Welch, partner and co-founder of Slate, said within the current market environment, the transaction also offers compelling value for unitholders of FAM.