Greg Silvers, president and CEO of EPR Properties (NYSE: EPR), joined REIT.com for a CEO Spotlight video interview at REITWorld 2016: NAREIT’s Annual Convention for All Things REIT at the JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge.
EPR is a specialty REIT that invests in entertainment, recreation and education properties.
Investment spending at EPR has been “very robust” in 2016, according to Silvers. The company completed about $675 million of investment spending year-to-date, Silvers said. For 2017, EPR has already announced a $700 million investment to expand its recreation segment, which should bring total investment spending for the year to about $1.3 million, he added.
Meanwhile, millennials continue to be a driving force in EPR’s strategy, Silvers noted.
“Most of our investment portfolio is based on what we think of as the experience economy – movie theaters, TopGolf, ski properties, schools. They form a core of what we are looking for when we make investment choices,” Silvers said.
As for EPR’s balance sheet, Silvers pointed out that the $700 million recreation investment is about 90 percent funded by equity.
“We’re actually de-levering our balance sheet and pre-funding our equity needs for the entire year,” Silvers said.