Premise Properties

What Premise Properties does

Premise Properties Ltd. is a privately-owned real estate investment and development company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, founded in 2012 by Avtar Bains after his 30-year tenure as Executive Vice President of the National Investment Team at Colliers International. The firm acquires, co-develops, and holds for the long term a diversified portfolio of income-producing properties across five asset classes — multi-family residential, retail, office, industrial, and hospitality — concentrated in British Columbia (Metro Vancouver, Vancouver Island, Okanagan) and Ontario (Greater Toronto Area, Tri-Cities, Guelph, Hamilton), with active acquisition search now extending to Calgary and Edmonton. Marquee assets include the Woodward's redevelopment in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside (960,000 sq ft of mixed-use space), Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel & Residences, Shangri-La Toronto, and the under-construction Mirvish Village rental community, alongside grocery-anchored retail centres in Vernon, Kelowna, and Brampton acquired in 2018.

The company's go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-based: a dedicated acquisitions team sources both on-market and off-market opportunities through direct outreach to property owners and developers, with stated emphasis on prompt responses and decisive execution. Co-development and joint-venture partnerships with major Canadian developers — notably Westbank and Peterson — provide access to large mixed-use projects that would be difficult to underwrite or deliver solo, while property management and leasing functions are largely delegated to partners such as Devon Properties and Peterson. Revenue is generated through rental income from a diversified tenant base spanning financial institutions (TD Bank, BMO), grocery anchors (London Drugs, FreshCo), government (City of Vancouver, Health Canada), hospitality operators (Fairmont, Shangri-La), and consumer brands, with capital appreciation realized on eventual disposition. The operating team is intentionally lean at four senior executives led by Bains, supplemented by CFA charterholders and former Colliers and Altus Group professionals.

Name

Premise Properties

Legal name

Premise Properties Ltd.

Website

https://premiseproperties.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Premise Properties Ltd. is a privately-owned Vancouver-based real estate investment and development company that acquires, co-develops, and holds diversified multi-family, retail, office, industrial, and hospitality assets across British Columbia, Ontario, and Alberta for long-term rental income and capital appreciation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Real Estate Investment

NAICS

Other Financial Investment Activities (5239), Management of Companies and Enterprises (55111)

SIC

Real Estate Dealers (For Their Own Account) (6532), Investors, Nec (6799)

akta.pro primary industry

Real Assets — Operating Platforms & Direct Investments (FSAAAKAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Core Real Estate (Stabilized/Core-Plus) (FSAAAKAA)

Keywords

• Commercial real estate investment
• Real estate development
• Multi-family properties
• Retail shopping centres
• Property acquisitions

Headquarters

HQ city

Vancouver

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Real Estate Investment and Development: Acquires or builds multi-family, retail, office, industrial and hotel properties in select Canadian and US markets to hold for long-term. Revenue is generated through rental income from tenants and potential capital appreciation upon property disposition.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Premise Properties Ltd. is a privately-owned real estate investment and development company that acquires or builds multi-family, retail, office, industrial, and hotel properties in select Canadian markets and holds them for the long term. Revenue is generated through rental income from tenants and capital appreciation upon property disposition. The company actively sources new investments through a dedicated acquisitions team targeting British Columbia, Ontario, and Alberta markets.

Product overview

Premise Properties Ltd. is a privately-owned real estate investment and development company that operates as a diversified property portfolio manager rather than a technology product company. The company's core offerings consist of individual income-producing properties across Canada, including multi-family residential buildings, retail shopping centres, office properties, industrial buildings, and hospitality assets. The portfolio includes 14 featured properties spanning British Columbia (Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna, Vernon), Ontario (Toronto, Brampton), with notable assets such as the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel & Residences, Shangri-La Toronto, Woodward's redevelopment, Mirvish Village, and multiple shopping centres. The properties are held for long-term investment to generate cash flow and capital appreciation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Parklyon Apartments A 4-storey multi-family rental building located in Victoria's James Bay neighbourhood, offering 34 rental units in proximity to downtown Victoria. Property management handled by Devon Properties.
• Bank of Montreal - Fraser Street A 2-storey single-tenant bank building completed in 2014, located in Vancouver's Sunset neighbourhood at the intersection of Fraser Street and 48th Avenue East, featuring 5,400 square feet of space leased to Bank of Montreal.
• 410@7 Shopping Centre An open format, grocery anchored retail centre acquired in 2018, located at the intersection of Highway 410 and Queen Street East in Brampton, Ontario, with 238,000 square feet of leasable area across 18.31 acres. Tenants include Oceans Fresh Food Market, Toys R Us, Dollarama, Tim Hortons, Jack Astors, and Swiss Chalet.
• Dilworth Shopping Centre An open format, grocery anchored retail centre acquired in 2018, located at the intersection of Okanagan Highway and Leckie Road in Kelowna, British Columbia, featuring 197,000 square feet across 13.98 acres. Tenants include FreshCo, Staples, TD Bank, and Boston Pizza.
• Vernon Square Shopping Centre An open format, grocery shadow anchored retail centre acquired in 2018, located at the intersection of Okanagan Highway (Hwy 97) and 43 Avenue in Vernon, British Columbia, with 98,000 square feet of space on 7.23 acres. Tenants include London Drugs, Dollarama, White Spot, and Prospera Credit Union.
• Shangri-La Hotel & Residences A 67-storey mixed-use development completed in 2012, comprising luxury residential condominiums, a 5-star hotel with 202 rooms, retail space, and a members-only club at University Avenue and Adelaide Street West in Toronto. Tenants include Momofuku, Miraj Hammam Spa, and Soho House.
• Mirvish Village A 3.5 acre mixed-use development acquired in 2013 and currently under construction, comprising 909 residential rental apartments, 195,000 square feet of retail/office space, and community space at Bloor Street West and Bathurst Street in Toronto.
• Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel & Residences A 47-storey mixed-use development completed in 2010, featuring 367 luxury residential condominiums, a 5-star hotel with 175 rooms, and retail space at the intersection of Burrard Street and Cordova Street West in Vancouver. Tenants include Fairmont Pacific Rim, giovane cafe, and Bella Gelateria.
• Woodward's A redevelopment completed in 2009 of the historic Woodward's department store in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, featuring 960,000 square feet of mixed-use space including 736 market and non-market residential units, 119,000 square feet of retail, and office space. Tenants include Nester's Market, London Drugs, TD Bank, JJ Bean, City of Vancouver, Health Canada, and National Film Board of Canada.
• Bank of Montreal - Denman Street A 2-storey single-tenant bank building acquired in 2014, located in Vancouver's West End neighbourhood at 958 Denman Street, featuring 4,400 square feet leased to Bank of Montreal.
• 3015 Bloor Street West A single-tenant retail building located in Toronto's Kingsway neighbourhood near Royal York subway station, with 4,700 square feet of leasable area occupied by Rogers Communications. Co-investment with LightPoint Properties.
• 1905-1931 West 4th Avenue A multi-tenant retail pavilion located in Vancouver's Kitsilano neighbourhood, featuring 25,000 square feet of space occupied by TD Bank, YYoga, 4th Avenue Dental, Tacofino, and Freshii. Co-developed with Peterson and Westbank.
• 88 SW Marine Drive A multi-tenant industrial building located in South Vancouver at 88-100 SW Marine Drive, featuring 28,000 square feet occupied by TJ's Kiddies Store and Planet Clean.
• 3142 Douglas Street A single-tenant drive-thru building located across from Victoria's Mayfair Mall, featuring 1,500 square feet of leasable area occupied by Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Quantifiable outcome

• Vanessa Lee has been directly involved in over $1.3 billion in commercial real estate transactions

Named customers39 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• PetersoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint development partner on multiple projects including West 4th Avenue retail pavilion in Vancouver, Woodward's redevelopment, and Vernon Square Shopping Centre. Peterson handles leasing inquiries for several retail properties in the portfolio.
• WestbankcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-development partner on major mixed-use projects including Woodward's (Vancouver) and West 4th Avenue retail pavilion. Westbank is a leading Vancouver-based developer specializing in urban mixed-use properties.
• LightPoint PropertiesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-investment partner on 3015 Bloor Street West single-tenant retail property in Toronto's Kingsway neighbourhood.
• Devon PropertiesminorOthersProperty management company handling rental inquiries for Parklyon Apartments, a 34-unit multi-family rental building in Victoria's James Bay neighbourhood.
• Peterson (Leasing)minorOthersHandles leasing inquiries for Vernon Square Shopping Centre and Dilworth Shopping Centre retail properties. Manages tenant relationships for these grocery-anchored retail centres.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Choice Properties REIT: Canadian REIT focused on retail and industrial properties anchored by Loblaw and other grocery tenants. Comparable to Premise's grocery-anchored retail strategy but operates at materially larger scale as a public, institutionally-managed vehicle.
• RioCan REIT: Canada's largest REIT, focused on grocery-anchored retail — directly overlapping Premise's shopping centre portfolio. As a much larger, public incumbent, RioCan represents the scale benchmark for the retail strategy Premise is pursuing within its portfolio.
• Allied Properties REIT: Canadian REIT focused on office and workspace in major urban centres including Toronto and Vancouver. Comparable to the office component of Premise's diversified portfolio, though operating at public-REIT scale.
• Boardwalk REIT: Canadian multi-family REIT with a portfolio that includes BC and Alberta markets where Premise is actively expanding. Comparable in residential strategy and geography, though Boardwalk operates at significantly larger scale.
• CAPREIT (Canadian Apartment Properties REIT): Canada's largest multi-family residential REIT, with assets concentrated in major urban markets including Vancouver and Toronto. Directly comparable to Premise's multi-family strategy (e.g., Parklyon Apartments, Mirvish Village) but at institutional scale.

Direct peers

• Primaris REIT: Canadian open-ended REIT focused on enclosed and grocery-anchored shopping centres, overlapping directly with Premise's retail shopping centre holdings (Dilworth, Vernon Square, 410@7). Avtar Bains' board position with Primaris signals close strategic and portfolio overlap.
• Morguard Corporation: Canadian privately-held real estate investor and operator with a diversified portfolio of retail, office, multi-family, and hotel assets across North America. Founder Avtar Bains sits on the board of Morguard's North American Residential REIT, evidencing direct comparability in investment strategy and asset mix.
• Peterson Group: Vancouver-based real estate developer and JV partner with Premise on Woodward's, West 4th Avenue, and Vernon Square. Peterson operates in the same asset classes (retail, mixed-use, office) and geographic markets, making it both a partner and a directly comparable investor.
• Westbank Corp: Vancouver-based developer of iconic mixed-use and hotel projects (Fairmont Pacific Rim, Shangri-La Vancouver). As Premise's JV partner on Woodward's and West 4th, Westbank is a directly comparable developer-investor with similar trophy urban asset strategy.

Regional players

• Devon Properties: Victoria, BC-based property manager and investor in multi-family and mixed-use assets. Operates as both a JV/property management partner with Premise and as a directly comparable regional investor in the same Vancouver Island market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/premise-properties-ltd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

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 Premise Properties