Highwoods Properties

What Highwoods Properties does

Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE: HIW) is a publicly traded office real estate investment trust (REIT) headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, that was founded in 1974 and is a member of the S&P MidCap 400 Index. The company owns, develops, acquires, leases, and manages a portfolio of Class A and Class AA office properties concentrated in the Best Business Districts of nine Sun Belt markets: Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Nashville, Orlando, Pittsburgh, Raleigh, Richmond, and Tampa. The portfolio includes trophy assets such as Truist Place (526,505 SF) in Tampa, the Midtown East and Midtown West buildings in Tampa's Westshore district, the Legacy Union cluster in Charlotte (including the 2025-acquired 6Hundred), and the Monarch Centre complex in Buckhead Atlanta.

The company's core product is fully-integrated Class A office space delivered as long-term triple-net leases (typically 5-10 years with built-in rent escalations) to enterprise tenants, supplemented by build-to-suit development, speculative development, and a suite of proprietary tenant-facing tools including SmartPark (parking management), VersaPay (online rent payment via secure.versapay.com), and Prism Services (building management via Building Engines). The Highwoods Business Resiliency Framework supports ESG reporting, and the portfolio holds multiple LEED certifications (Platinum, Gold, Silver), ENERGY STAR, Fitwel, WiredScore, MSCI ESG Rating of A, and GRESB Green Star designations.

Highwoods monetizes primarily through recurring rental income from its office portfolio, complemented by transactional revenue from property dispositions and one-time development fees for build-to-suit projects such as the Mars Petcare U.S. headquarters (224,000 SF, two LEED-Gold buildings) and Virginia Urology headquarters ($29M, 100% pre-leased). Revenue is projected by analysts at approximately $921.8M by 2029, implying ~4.5% annual growth. Distribution is via market-based direct leasing teams in each of the nine markets, an online property search platform on highwoods.com, and a broker network, targeting both enterprise (10,000+ SF) and mid-market tenants. Notable customers include Truist Financial, American Express, Philip Morris International, Mars Petcare, MetLife, TeamViewer, BayCare, and Delta Community Credit Union, with 33 consecutive years of dividend payments, a $0.50 quarterly dividend (7%+ yield), and 1.68x AFFO payout coverage supporting a defensive, income-oriented investor base.

Name

Highwoods Properties

Legal name

Highwoods Properties, Inc.

Website

https://highwoods.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Highwoods Properties (NYSE: HIW) is a publicly traded office REIT that owns, develops, and manages Class A office properties in the Best Business Districts of nine Sun Belt markets, leasing to enterprise and mid-market tenants via long-term triple-net leases. The company is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Office REIT / Commercial Real Estate

NAICS

Offices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers (53121), Real Estate Property Managers (53131)

SIC

Real Estate (6500), Real Estate Investment Trusts (6798)

akta.pro primary industry

Multifamily Apartment Property Management (BPAJAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Luxury & High-End Residential Brokerage (BPAJAAAC)

Keywords

• Office property leasing
• Class A office space
• Commercial real estate REIT
• Office development services
• Corporate office space

Headquarters

HQ city

Raleigh

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Infrastructure, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Office Property Rental Income: Primary revenue stream from long-term office space leases to enterprise tenants. Generates recurring rental income from Class A office properties in best business districts. Lease terms typically 5-10 years with rent escalations built in.
2. Property Development and Sale: Development of new office properties for lease-up and sale. Capital recycling through disposition of non-core assets to fund acquisitions and new development. Includes build-to-suit projects for credit tenants.
3. Asset Disposition: Sale of office properties as part of portfolio optimization strategy. Proceeds used for debt repayment, acquisitions, and share repurchases.
4. Joint Venture Investments: Co-investment in joint ventures for property acquisitions and development in key markets, generating equity returns and fee income.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Highwoods Properties is a publicly-traded office REIT that owns, develops, acquires, leases, and manages Class A office properties located in Best Business Districts (BBDs) across nine U.S. Sun Belt markets: Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Nashville, Orlando, Pittsburgh, Raleigh, Richmond, and Tampa. It generates recurring rental income from long-term office leases with enterprise and mid-market tenants, supplemented by build-to-suit development, acquisitions, dispositions, and joint-venture co-investments that together form an integrated capital-recycling platform.

Product overview

Highwoods Properties is a fully-integrated office REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) that operates as a single, unified business platform providing office property ownership, development, acquisition, leasing, and management services. The company's core product is its portfolio of Class A office properties located in Best Business Districts (BBDs) across nine Sun Belt markets: Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Nashville, Orlando, Pittsburgh, Raleigh, Richmond, and Tampa. The portfolio includes flagship properties like Truist Place in Tampa, Midtown East/West in Tampa's Westshore district, the Legacy Union portfolio in Charlotte (including 6Hundred at Legacy Union), BayCare ARC properties, and various other Class A office buildings. Supporting services include property development (build-to-suit and speculative), leasing representation, and tenant services through tools like SmartPark (parking management), VersaPay (online payments), and Building Engines Prism Services (property management). The company publishes an annual Corporate Resiliency Report documenting ESG initiatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Highwoods Helps: Company's community outreach and philanthropy program
• Highwoods Hub
• SmartPark
• VersaPay
• Prism Services

Products and services

• Office Property Ownership & Management Core service of owning, managing, and leasing Class A office properties in Best Business Districts (BBDs) across Sun Belt markets including Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Nashville, Orlando, Pittsburgh, Raleigh, Richmond, and Tampa. Targets enterprise and mid-market tenants.
• Office Property Development Ground-up development of Class A office buildings in strategic Sun Belt locations, including build-to-suit projects for corporate tenants (e.g., Mars Petcare, Virginia Urology) and speculative development.
• Office Property Acquisition Acquisition of Class A office properties in primary business districts to expand portfolio presence in target Sun Belt markets. Recent examples include 6Hundred at Legacy Union in Charlotte for ~$223 million.
• Office Leasing Leasing of Class A office space to corporate tenants ranging from mid-sized businesses to Fortune 500 enterprises across the nine-market Sun Belt footprint, with size tiers from under 2,500 SF to over 25,000 SF.
• Truist Place Premier 526,505-square-foot, Class A+ office building in downtown Tampa featuring an iconic spire design, Spark conference facility, Velocity fitness center, Verve customer lounge, and SmartPark parking system. Anchor tenant Truist Financial holds naming rights.
• Midtown East 18-story, 430,000 square foot Class A office building in Tampa's Westshore submarket, anchoring the Midtown Tampa mixed-use development with LEED certification and wellness-focused design.
• Midtown West 152,000 square foot, eight-story Class A office building in Tampa's Westshore district within the Midtown Tampa urban hub development. LEED Silver and Fitwel certified.
• Legacy Union Portfolio (Charlotte) Portfolio of Class AA office buildings in Charlotte's Legacy Union development including 6Hundred at Legacy Union (24-story, 84% leased) and SIX50 at Legacy Union, with anchor tenants such as Bank of America and American Express.
• BayCare ARC Portfolio Eight-story office buildings within Tampa Bay Park featuring Spark conference center, Velocity fitness center, Verve customer lounge, Take 5 Café, and EV charging stations; leased to BayCare.
• SmartPark Proprietary parking management system offered at portfolio properties including Truist Place, providing seamless parking access for tenants and visitors.
• VersaPay Online payment platform enabling tenants to make rent and service payments through a secure digital portal at secure.versapay.com.

Quantifiable outcome

• Record net effective rents averaging 18% above 2019 pre-pandemic peak
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and flagship.

• Lincoln HarrisminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 August 2025Seller of SEVEN20 parking facility at Legacy Union in Charlotte. CBRE represented Lincoln Harris in the sale transaction.
• Bromley CompaniesflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint venture partner for Midtown Tampa development - a $1 billion, 23-acre mixed-use district. Highwoods and Bromley Companies developed Midtown East and Midtown West office buildings as part of this flagship development. Midtown East is now more than 90% leased.

Scale indicators17 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Cousins Properties: Atlanta-headquartered Sun Belt office REIT with a portfolio concentrated in Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Dallas, Nashville, and Tampa — overlapping with Highwoods' footprint and tenant base. Cousins is the most directly comparable peer given shared Sun Belt focus and similar Class A trophy asset strategy.
• Piedmont Office Realty Trust: Sun Belt-focused office REIT with properties in Atlanta, Dallas, Orlando, and other Highwoods-overlap markets. Comparable in asset class and geographic concentration, though smaller and more narrowly focused on a few core markets.
• SL Green Realty: NYC-focused office REIT and one of the largest publicly-traded office REITs. Comparable in scale and asset class but concentrated in Manhattan rather than Sun Belt markets, providing a useful contrast on geographic strategy.
• Vornado Realty Trust: Major office REIT concentrated in NYC's Penn District and select assets in Chicago and San Francisco. Direct office REIT comparable in scale and capital-markets profile, though with very different geographic exposure.
• Kilroy Realty: West Coast office REIT with a portfolio in Los Angeles, San Diego, the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, and Austin. Comparable in Class A office focus and trophy asset strategy but with Pacific Coast rather than Sun Belt concentration.
• Douglas Emmett: Office and multifamily REIT focused on premier submarkets of Los Angeles and Honolulu. Comparable in Class A office strategy and trophy asset focus but with coastal rather than Sun Belt markets.
• Brandywine Realty Trust: Office REIT primarily serving the Philadelphia and Austin markets. Smaller-scale office REIT comparable in asset class but with different geographic focus and developmental profile.
• Empire State Realty Trust: NYC-focused office and observatory REIT centered on the Empire State Building and a Manhattan office portfolio. Comparable in pure-play office REIT structure and dividend orientation, though with very different market exposure.
• Equity Commonwealth: Office REIT with a portfolio concentrated in Austin, Atlanta, Denver, and Orlando — significant overlap with Highwoods' Sun Belt footprint. Comparable as a focused office REIT with active capital recycling strategy.

Broad incumbents

• Boston Properties: Largest publicly-traded office REIT with a portfolio concentrated in Boston, New York, San Francisco, and Washington DC — distinct Sun Belt gateway markets but a direct competitor for institutional capital and large-tenant leases.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/HighwoodsProperties
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/highwoods-properties
• Instagraminstagram.com/highwoodsproperties
• Xx.com/highwoodsprop

Compliance12 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors

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 Highwoods Properties