First Capital

What First Capital does

First Capital REIT (TSX: FCR.UN) is a Canadian real estate investment trust that owns, operates, acquires, and develops open-air grocery-anchored shopping centres located in Canada's most densely populated urban neighbourhoods. The company manages a portfolio of approximately 136 properties across Toronto, Calgary, Montreal, Edmonton, and Vancouver, with C$9.3 billion in total assets and ~372 employees distributed across five regional offices plus its Toronto head office in Liberty Village.

The platform generates revenue almost entirely through rental income from necessity-based retail leases, with grocery anchors (Loblaw banners, Metro, Save-On-Foods, Sobeys/Safeway, Whole Foods, Longo's) supplemented by national retailers, financial-services tenants, fitness operators, and a long tail of local SMB merchants. Capital deployment is supported by an in-house leasing team, a development pipeline focused on unlocking embedded value through mixed-use intensification, and a sustainability program that has produced 130 LEED-certified projects (4.6M sf), 79% BOMA BEST portfolio coverage, and the highest MSCI ESG "AAA" rating.

First Capital is currently operating independently but has agreed to be acquired by KingSett Capital and Choice Properties REIT in a C$9.4 billion transaction announced 16 April 2026 at C$24.40 per unit (79% cash / 21% Choice Properties units), which unitholders approved by ~99.58% in November 2025. The deal is expected to close in H2 2026 subject to regulatory clearances, effectively ending First Capital's standalone trajectory as a public REIT.

Name

First Capital

Legal name

First Capital Real Estate Investment Trust

Website

https://fcr.ca

Company type

Public

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

First Capital REIT (TSX: FCR.UN) owns, operates, and develops approximately 136 grocery-anchored open-air shopping centres across Canada's densest urban neighbourhoods, generating rental income from national grocery, retail, and service tenants. The REIT is pending acquisition by KingSett Capital and Choice Properties REIT in a C$9.4 billion deal.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Retail Real Estate / REIT

NAICS

Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525), Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)

SIC

Real Estate Investment Trusts (6798)

akta.pro primary industry

REITs & Listed Real Estate Securities (FSAAAKAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Real Estate Portfolio & Fund Management (Institutional/REIT/PE) (BPAJAMAJ), Real Estate Capital Markets Advisory (Debt/Equity Placement, Refinancing) (BPAJANAE), Core Real Estate (Stabilized/Core-Plus) (FSAAAKAA)

Keywords

• Grocery-anchored retail REIT
• Open-air shopping centres
• Urban retail properties
• Commercial property leasing
• Mixed-use real estate development

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Rental Income from Retail Properties: First Capital generates revenue primarily through rental income from its portfolio of grocery-anchored open-air shopping centers across Canada. The company owns and operates approximately 136 shopping centres in urban neighborhoods, generating stable and growing cash flows for investors and partners.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

First Capital REIT owns, operates, acquires and develops open-air grocery-anchored shopping centres in Canada's most densely populated urban neighbourhoods, leasing retail space to enterprise national and regional tenants under long-term agreements. The portfolio spans approximately 136 properties across major Canadian cities with C$9.3 billion in total assets, generating rental income that produces stable and growing cash flows for unitholders.

Product overview

First Capital is a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) that operates as a single unified offering: owning, operating, acquiring, and developing open-air grocery-anchored shopping centres across Canada's most densely populated urban neighbourhoods. The company does not operate a platform-plus-modules architecture but rather provides an integrated set of real estate services including property management, retail leasing, and development. The portfolio consists of 136 Canadian neighbourhoods with total assets of $9.3 billion. Supporting the core real estate business, First Capital offers ESG & sustainability services (BOMA BEST, LEED, WELL Health-Safety certifications) and an internal Supplier Portal for payment processing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Open-Air Grocery-Anchored Shopping Centres
• Retail Property Leasing
• Real Estate Development

Quantifiable outcome

• Portfolio occupancy of 97.1% (Q4 2025) and 98.1% (Q1 2026)
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers27 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• KingSett CapitalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 April 2026KingSett Capital is a private equity firm that agreed to acquire First Capital REIT along with Choice Properties REIT in a $9.4 billion transaction. KingSett will acquire approximately $4.4 billion of remaining assets and all outstanding units of First Capital. This is the primary acquisition partnership for the company's sale.
• Choice Properties REITcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 April 2026Choice Properties REIT (controlled by the Weston family) is co-acquiring First Capital REIT in a $9.4 billion transaction. Choice Properties will acquire approximately $5.0 billion of First Capital's necessity-based shopping centre assets. Unitholders receive 21% of consideration in Choice Properties units.
• Hydro QuebecminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership formed in 2012 to install forty public electric vehicle charging stations at several Quebec properties within a two-year period through Hydro Quebec's Electric Circuit program.
• Natural Resources CanadaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorking with Natural Resources Canada as a community partner for the installation of EV charging stations across First Capital's national property portfolio.
• LeadingAhead EnergyminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPartner for installation of EV charging stations across First Capital's property portfolio as part of sustainability initiatives.
• Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFirst Capital's GHG emission reduction targets (46% reduction by 2030, net-zero by 2050) have been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative.
• Institute for Market Transformation (IMT)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGold Green Lease Leader recognition awarded by IMT and U.S. Department of Energy's Better Building Alliance for incorporating green leasing practices.
• GRESBminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark partner - First Capital ranked as Sector Leader in Developments Benchmark (2023) and achieved 4-star ranking with score of 78.
• FCR Thriving Neighbourhoods FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharitable foundation launched in 2020 focused on addressing food insecurity and poverty, supporting Right To Food's community food centres. Raised over $1.6 million in donations.
• Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCAD U)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArt program partnership - sponsored $45,000 worth of student programs including graduate exhibitions, awards, and sculpture competitions starting in 2012.
• Emily Carr University of Art + DesignminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPublic art program partnership with university in Vancouver, BC as part of social initiative to support budding young artists.
• Concordia UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPublic art program partnership with university in Montreal, QC as part of social initiative to support budding young artists.

Scale indicators19 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• RioCan REIT: One of Canada's largest retail REITs, owning an open-air shopping centre portfolio that directly competes with First Capital for grocery-anchored urban retail tenants in major Canadian markets.
• Choice Properties REIT: Canadian retail REIT controlled by the Weston family and the acquirer of ~C$5B of First Capital's assets. Overlap in grocery-anchored necessity-based retail and shared Loblaw's tenant relationships makes it a direct comparable.
• SmartCentres REIT: Canadian open-air retail REIT anchored primarily by Walmart and grocery operators. Comparable in portfolio strategy of necessity-based shopping centres and similar size, though more suburban-focused than First Capital.
• Crombie REIT: Canadian open-air retail REIT with a grocery-anchored portfolio, partly owned by Empire Company (Sobeys parent). Directly comparable business model targeting urban and suburban Canadian grocery-anchored centres.
• CT REIT: Canadian REIT primarily leased to Canadian Tire Corporation, focused on retail properties across Canada. Comparable in scale and Canadian retail REIT structure, though more single-tenant concentrated.
• Plaza Retail REIT: Smaller Canadian open-air retail REIT with a portfolio focused on necessity-based shopping centres in mid-sized Canadian markets. Operates a similar grocery-anchored model, though at a smaller scale than First Capital.
• Slate Grocery REIT: US-focused grocery-anchored REIT with a comparable necessity-based retail model. While US-focused rather than Canadian, the grocery-anchored open-air centre thesis and tenant base overlap directly with First Capital's strategy.

Broad incumbents

• Kite Realty Group: US open-air shopping centre REIT with a grocery-anchored focus. Comparable in retail centre strategy and tenant mix, providing a US public-market comparable for First Capital's grocery-anchored portfolio thesis.
• Canadian Apartment Properties REIT (CAPREIT): Large Canadian REIT (residential focus) comparable in scale and Canadian public-market REIT structure, though operating in a different property sector. Useful as a Canadian REIT comparable for governance, capital structure, and unitholder dynamics.

Others

• KingSett Capital: Canadian private equity firm and acquirer of approximately C$4.4B of First Capital's remaining assets. As the counterparty in the pending acquisition, KingSett is a key transaction participant rather than a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/first-capital-reit
• Instagraminstagram.com/firstcapitalreit
• Facebookfacebook.com/FirstCapitalREIT

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds8 records

Investors5 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about First Capital