Field Guide to Sale Leasebacks & Synthetic Leases
(Updated October 2009)
Often used as a financing alternative, sale-leasebacks offer financially struggling companies access to cash to pay down debt and improve the bottom line. And in a post-Enron environment, sale-leasebacks provide an alternative to the less favorable option of synthetic leases. Find out how sale-leaseback transactions have helped the balance sheets of hotel, restaurant, retail, and other businesses, in the articles and books below. (S. Hogan, Information Specialist)
Advantages of a Sale-Leaseback
• Reinvest in the company
• Retire debt
• Improve credit rating
• Increase productivity
• Make an acquisition
• Get a better return on capital investment
• Avoid negative impact from depreciation on the financial statement
Source: Right now sale/leaseback may be the only option to obtain cash and a healthier balance sheet, (PRWeb, Oct. 9, 2009).
About Sale-Leasebacks & Synthetic Leases 
Sale-leaseback sticker shock, (Wall Street Journal, July 15, 2009). Q
Sale/Leasebacks expected to be more popular in a recession, (Jacksonville Business Journal, Mar. 6, 2009).
'Enron effect' lingers over synthetic leases, (National Real Estate Investor, Sept. 2008). Q
Commercial real estate: sale-leasebacks gain popularity for business owners, (Puget Sound Business Journal, Sept. 19, 2008).
Home sellers try leaseback arrangements, (Wall Street Journal, July 16, 2008). Q
Advantages of Sale-Leasebacks
Synthetic lease financing revisited, (Real Estate Finance, June 2009). Q
Financing alternatives, (CA Magazine, Nov. 2008). Q
Survey finds sale-leasebacks growing, (Realtor Magazine, Jan. 4, 2007).
Capturing the benefits of operating and synthetic leases, (The Journal of Corporate Accounting & Finance, Nov./Dec. 2006). Q
Hotel & Restaurant Property Leasebacks
Restaurants renegotiate loans to avoid pitfalls, (Wall Street Journal, Feb. 4, 2009). Q
Lenders squeeze companies already reeling from guests pinching pennies, (Nation’s Restaurant News, Aug. 25, 2008). Q
Restauranteurs turn to sale-leaseback deals to convert assets into capital for expansion, (Nation’s Restaurant News, Apr. 14, 2008). Q
Bank Property Leasebacks
Banks consider sale-leaseback deals, (NAR Daily Real Estate News, Apr. 17, 2009).
Have your branch, and sell it too, (ABA Banking Journal, Aug. 2008). Q
Mid-tiers find value in what lies beneath, (US Banker, Dec. 2006). Q
Government Property Leasebacks
Investors buzzing over state leaseback plan, (The Arizona Republic, Oct. 25, 2009).
Gov. Brewer signs budget with state property sale-leaseback provisions, (Phoenix Business Journal, Sept. 4, 2009).
Healthcare Property Leasebacks
Sale-leasebacks play new role in health-care operations, (Mortgage Banking, July 2009). Q
Factors associated with lease financing in the hospital industry, (Journal of Health Care Finance, Spring 2007). Q
eBooks & Other Resources
Books, Videos, Research Reports & More
The resources below are available for loan through Information Central. Up to three books, tapes, CDs and/or DVDs can be borrowed for 30 days from the Library for a nominal fee of $10. Call Information Central at 800.874.6500 for assistance.
Commercial lease law answer book, (New York, NY: Vendome Group, 2008). KF 593 C6
Managing and leasing commercial properties, (New York, NY: Wiley, 2007). HD 1394 AL2ma
Real estate finance: theory and practice, (Mason, OH: Thomson Southwestern, 2003). HG 4029 C57 Ed. 4
Real estate investors deskbook, (Boston, MA: West Group, 2002). HG 4521 Ar6Re Ed. 3
Real estate sale/leaseback: a review of the advantages and disadvantages, (Washington, D.C.: Society of Office and Industrial REALTORS®, 1993). HD 1384 So1
Field Guides & More
These Field Guides and other resources in the Virtual Library may also be of interest:
Field Guide to Commercial Property Management
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