In 2002, Realstar entered the U.K. market by acquiring a diverse, nationwide portfolio of newly developed primary healthcare centres. Since then, we have doubled the size of the portfolio.

Primary care centres provide an integrated medical offering for non-accident and emergency patients. New, state-of the-art designed centres offer traditional GP consultations alongside dentistry and other treatments such as physiotherapy. Pharmacies operated by large corporations such as Boots or Lloyds typically lease space within the centres. Often, the local government health authorities also lease space.

As owners of the properties, but not the underlying medical operating business, we take an active role in:

• Transaction origination through relationships with key stakeholders such as third-party developers, agents, lenders, and local health authorities;
• Acquisition due diligence – oversight and thorough analysis of all physical, environmental, tax, financial, and legal matters;
• Financing negotiation under the most competitive terms available in the market; Property management – liaison and relationships with residents, rent roll collection, rent review negotiations, lease compliance;
• Asset management – property improvements, including development and expansion;
• Strategic dispositions where appropriate.

In 2004, Realstar entered the manufactured housing market as a founding partner of Keystone Communities, a company formed to acquire, operate, and develop manufactured housing communities throughout Canada. In 2006, a subsidiary of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce became an investor in Keystone.

In a manufactured housing community, residents own their individual manufactured or modular home but lease the underlying land. The total monthly cost (land lease payment plus mortgage payment on house) to a resident is typically much less than the monthly cost of comparable home ownership or rental housing. For this reason, manufactured housing is an appealing housing alternative for working families, single adults, and seniors.

Keystone acquires existing communities and develops new communities. In both cases, our strategy is to improve resident experience by providing amenities such as parks and recreation centres, and by enhancing community appearance with landscaping and signage. These ongoing improvements enable us to attract and keep a desirable resident base, thereby improving the financial performance of our communities.

Keystone has relationships with suppliers of manufactured homes, so we earn a percentage on the sale of each home to a new resident, and we can ensure the quality and consistency of homes in our communities.

Keystone currently owns 10 manufactured housing communities and is developing projects in Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. We continue to seek, acquire, and develop additional communities across Canada.

In 1997, Realstar forged a successful private/public joint venture with the City of Brampton, Ontario to own, design, build, and operate a 5,000-seat sports and entertainment arena. The Powerade Centre, located on 125 acres and within a 15-minute drive of Toronto's Pearson International Airport, is one of Ontario's first successful public/private joint ventures and one of the largest indoor/outdoor facilities of its kind in Canada with four National Hockey League-sized ice surfaces and almost one million visitors yearly. The facility hosts Ontario Hockey League games, women's hockey, lacrosse, concerts, trade shows, circus acts, conferences, and many community events. It is the only facility of its kind in Canada chosen by Coca-Cola to be named after one of its products.