A&G Real Estate Partners, in its capacity as real estate advisor to Party City Holdco (PCHI), plans to auction eight additional Party City leases as part of PCHI’s expedited financial restructuring, subject to bankruptcy court approval of bid procedures.
A&G previously announced an initial 12-store tranche of available leases, noting that more would become available. Two of those 12 locations are no longer available.
This second round includes locations in eight states: Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, New York, Texas and West Virginia.
New York-based A&G continues to engage with landlords to reduce occupancy costs as part of the company’s real estate optimization strategy.
“Party City recognizes that the retail world and the consumer are constantly evolving and that real estate portfolios need to be modified accordingly,” Andy Graiser, co-president of A&G, said. “We fully expect to market additional Party City leases in the weeks ahead. For retailers, that will translate into an opportunity to benefit from Party City’s desirable locations and incredible market penetration. Stay tuned.”
“Party City is the go-to brand in the celebrations space, and we are excited about the future of our go-forward fleet as we continue to enhance the shopping experience for our customers,” Marc Ehle, EVP of enterprise operations at Party City, said. “As we look to the future, our real estate strategy requires optimizing the performance of every viable location and exiting those that cannot be brought into alignment with our key financial metrics.”
The 18 stores range in size from 7,500 to 28,000 square feet. Some are freestanding, while others are in power centers, strips, or city street locations.
“These are fully built-out retail boxes that make it cost-effective for retailers to hit the ground running,” Mike Matlat, senior managing director at A&G, said.
Potential users include gyms, dollar stores, local retail operators, furniture users, local specialty retailers and non-retail users such as medical office clinics.
“Quality locations such as these are in demand among local, regional, and national retailers alike,” Alexandra Graiser managing director at A&G, said. “A wide array of highly-motivated operators are already expressing interest in these leases.”
PCHI’s financial restructuring is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2023.
