The MLT Aikins Commercial Real Estate and Finance teams played a key role in one of Canada’s largest retail real estate transactions of 2026 – the acquisition by Montréal-based Leyad of a nearly $300-million portfolio of 22 single-tenant retail properties leased to Loblaw Companies Limited and spanning all ten Canadian provinces.
Announced on September 3, 2026, the transaction is one of the largest Canadian retail real estate deals completed to date in 2026. The closing represents the substantial majority of the transaction, following an initial closing of seven Loblaw-leased stores earlier this year.
MLT Aikins acted for Leyad across the Western provinces, providing comprehensive real estate and financing counsel in Alberta, British Columbia and Manitoba. Working in close coordination with Leyad’s Québec counsel, De Grandpré Chait (led by Aviad M. Grunbaum), who led the transaction nationally and across the eastern provinces, our team navigated multi-jurisdictional due diligence, title review, financing and closing mechanics across three provinces – the kind of seamless cross-country coordination that complex portfolio acquisitions demand.
The MLT Aikins team was led by Maria Penner in Manitoba, Aleem Popatia and Daniel Yereniuk in Alberta, and Mark Gill in British Columbia.
“This is a defining transaction for Leyad and an important milestone in the continued growth of our national platform,” said Leyad SVP, Commercial Greg Castiel. “The portfolio is highly complementary to our strategy of owning high-quality, necessity-based retail real estate supported by strong tenants and long-term leases. This transaction meaningfully increases our exposure to the grocery sector.”
Leyad has grown into one of Canada’s largest privately owned real estate companies, owning and managing more than 12 million square feet of retail, industrial and residential properties across ten provinces.
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