“You can’t talk about 2021 without talking about 2020,” says Anthony Giuffre, CEO of Avenue Living.
And what a year 2020 was. For nearly everyone, last year was a roller-coaster, with loops and curves that included a global pandemic and a devastating economic downturn. The events transformed every aspect of our lives and left many of us wondering how we would adapt.
Years ago, when we began implementing our vertically integrated platform, we did so to ensure we could be responsive to change. We never imagined how valuable it would become in the face of such a monumental crisis. Our platform allowed us to focus on fundamentals, to ensure safety for our staff and residents and remain transparent with our investors, providing some certainty in a world that had suddenly become uncertain.
Our platform allowed us to respond quickly, transitioning to remote work and implementing virtual viewings, paperless signings, and flexible payments for tenants. And our methodical, data-driven investment in assets that serve essential workers meant our tenancy remained stable and rent collections held steady at 97 per cent. Our assets under management grew by 30 per cent — $480 million — to surpass $2 billion in assets under management and 10,000 doors owned and operated. We added seven new markets across the platform, including launching a new fund in the United States. “Really, after a 15-year journey 2020 reaffirmed our investment strategy — investing in the everyday,” says Jason Jogia, Chief Investment Officer. “When you think about how 2020 transpired, the assets we chose and the operating team and platform we’ve built not only survived a pandemic when many other businesses were challenged, but it thrived.”
The Year Ahead
Avenue Living looks to bring that same energy to 2021. “We want to extend the predictability and continuity of what we’re doing through this year,” says Jogia.
The company has invested heavily in building a robust platform over the past few years — technology, tools, software, and people — and that investment paid off during 2020. As the world locked down, Avenue Living had the tools in place to move toward remote work, virtual viewings, flexible payment programs, and other adaptations which keep our residents and employees safe. “We didn’t have to rush to adapt.”
These adaptations set the groundwork for the company’s 2020 successes to carry forward to 2021.
“We want to continue to grow,” Jogia says of the next year. “We see there are opportunities to strategically amass assets. We see the fundamental drivers of valuation are favouring our asset class, and we have seen stability in our cash flow. We want to keep doing what we’re doing: focus on the everyday.”
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