Transglobe Property Management

Transglobe Property Management or Transglobe Apartment REIT or simply Transglobe was a property asset manager and owner. Its assets were purchased by Starlight Investments in 2012.

Controversy

Transglobe was frequently accused of being a “slumlord” by several tenants across Canada. In 2008, an Ontario Transglobe tenant complains of Transglobe abusing the Ontario Landlord and Tenant Act to “bully” tenants unfamiliar with landlord and tenant laws.^[1]

In April 2008, CBC News’ Marketplace conducted an investigation into Transglobe’s apartments in Ottawa.^[2]

The Better Business Bureau records indicate a total of 17 complaints filed against the Transglobe Kitchener location. The Better Business Bureau notes 10 of those complaints were successfully resolved, five had Transglobe make “a good faith effort to resolve the complaint but the customer was not satisfied,” and two in which Transglobe did not respond.^[3] Complaints at the Kitchener apartments were either “problems with product/service” or “billing/collection issues.”

In January 2012, CBC News program Marketplace conducted another investigation into several Transglobe properties across Canada. The Marketplace investigation noted Transglobe’s Ontario apartments had racked up over 240 charges for failing to complete ordered safety repairs and violating fire codes, amassing nearly $80,000 in fines.^[4] The tenants interviewed for the Marketplace program complained of leaky basements, ceilings with mould, and broken windows and repairs that went unfixed for months or years. The CEO responded that they had spent $28 million in repairs and would “run the business differently.”^[5]

Going Public

In 2010, Transglobe became a publicly traded company on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Acquisition and Going Private

In April 2012, Transglobe was purchased for just over $1 billion.^[6] Transglobe's properties were divided between several buyers, some of whom had previously been property managers for Transglobe.

Division

• Cap REIT: 14 properties
• Timbercreek Asset Management: 26
• Starlight Investments: 63
• A joint venture between Starlight Investments and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board: 72^[7]

In June 2012, Transglobe's return to private status was completed.^[8]

Shortly after the return to private status was completed, questions arose in the media about how long the company would stay private before returning to public status.^[9]

References