Winn-Dixie has raised nearly $100 million from the sale of a warehouse in nearby Baldwin, Fla., the company said.
A Winn-Dixie spokesman said the chain’s parent, Bi-Lo Holdings, last week completed the sale of the facility to New York-based real estate investor American Realty Capital, which subsequently leased it back to Winn-Dixie.
“We will continue to occupy the Baldwin facility – now through a long-term lease agreement – with no disruption to our business operations,” Brian Wright, a spokesman for Winn-Dixie, said. “Without going into specifics, sale-leasebacks are a common way companies like ours can monetize their assets – in this case buildings and property – and then reinvest that money into other parts of the company.”
Prior to this transaction, the Baldwin facility was Winn-Dixie’s only owned distribution facility. The company operates five other distribution centers, all of which are leased. The vast majority of the company’s retail stores are also leased, the company said.
