Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Leasing Agreements

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Leasing Agreements
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2019
Leases [Abstract]  
Leasing Agreements Lease Agreements

On January 1, 2019, we adopted ASC 842, which supersedes ASC 840. We adopted ASC 842 using the modified retrospective approach, whereby there was no cumulative effect adjustments to retained earnings on adoption and prior periods were not restated. Accordingly, our leases and lease related costs, as both lessee and lessor, and lease related receivables, as lessor, are presented under ASC 842 for the year ended December 31, 2019 and under ASC 840 the year ended December 31, 2018.

As a lessor, substantially all of our revenues are earned from arrangements that are within the scope of ASC 842. We utilized the practical expedient in ASU 2018-11 to account for lease and non-lease components as a single component which resulted in all of our revenues associated with leases being recorded as rental revenues in the consolidated statements of operations. As a result of the adoption of ASC 842, the amounts disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 as base rentals, percentage rentals and expense reimbursements have now been combined into rental revenues on the consolidated statements of operations to conform to the current year presentation. In addition, certain amounts previously included in expense reimbursements in our Annual Report on Form10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, which are not related to leases have been reclassified to management, leasing and other services and other revenues on the consolidated statements of operations to conform to the current year presentation. See Note 6 for additional details on the amounts reclassified to management, leasing and other services.

ASC 842 requires certain other accounting changes effective January 1, 2019 where prior year amounts are not reclassified or restated. Uncollectible tenant revenues previously recorded in general and administrative expense are recorded in rental revenues as a contra-revenue account in 2019. As a result of combining all components of a lease, all fixed contractual payments, including consideration received from certain executory costs, are now recognized on a straight-line basis. For the year ended December 31, 2019, we recorded a straight-line rent adjustment of $6.4 million in rental revenues in our consolidated statements of operations to record revenues from executory costs on a straight-line basis. In addition, direct internal leasing costs are capitalized, however, indirect internal leasing costs previously capitalized are now expensed. We only capitalize the portion of these types of costs incurred that are a direct result of an executed lease. For the year ended December 31, 2019, lease costs of approximately $4.9 million were expensed which would have been capitalized under ASC 840.

As a lessee, the new standard also provides a number of optional provisions, known as practical expedients, which companies may elect to adopt to facilitate implementation. We elected the package of practical expedients which, among other items, precludes us from needing to reassess (1) whether any expired or existing contracts are or contain leases, (2) the lease classification of any expired or existing leases, and (3) initial direct costs for any existing leases.

Information as Lessor Under ASC 842

As of December 31, 2019, we were the lessor to over 2,400 stores in our 32 consolidated outlet centers, under operating leases with initial terms that expire from 2020 to 2035, with certain agreements containing extension options. We also have certain agreements which require tenants to pay their portion of reimbursable expenses such as common area expenses, utilities, insurance and real estate taxes.

For the year ended December 31, 2019, the components of rental revenues are as follows (in thousands):
 
 
2019
Rental revenues - fixed
 
$
360,513

Rental revenues - variable (1)
 
103,433

Rental revenues
 
$
463,946

(1)
Primarily includes rents based on a percentage of tenant sales volume and reimbursable expenses such as common area expenses, utilities, insurance and real estate taxes.

Future minimum lease receipts under non-cancelable operating leases as of December 31, 2019, excluding the effect of straight-line rent and variable rentals, are as follows (in thousands):
2020
 
$
316,397

2021
 
282,225

2022
 
247,874

2023
 
213,932

2024
 
179,081

Thereafter
 
349,234

 
 
$
1,588,743



Information as Lessor Under ASC 840

As of December 31, 2018, we were the lessor to over 2,600 stores in our 36 consolidated outlet centers, under operating leases with initial terms that expire from 2019 to 2033. The majority of our leases contain provisions which provide additional rents based on tenants’ sales volume. Percentage rentals are recognized when specified targets that trigger the contingent rent are met.

Future minimum lease receipts under non-cancelable operating leases as of December 31, 2018, excluding the effect of straight-line rent and variable rentals, are as follows (in thousands):
2019
 
$
285,343

2020
 
265,361

2021
 
229,553

2022
 
195,808

2023
 
164,845

Thereafter
 
364,844

 
 
$
1,505,754



Information as Lessee Under ASC 842

Adoption of the new standard resulted in the recording of operating lease right-of-use assets and operating lease liabilities, of $90.4 million and $95.1 million, respectively, as of January 1, 2019 equal to the present value of the minimum lease payments required under each lease. The difference between the recorded operating lease liability and operating right-of-use assets represents the accrued straight-line rent liability and our prepaid rent balances previously recognized under ASC 840.  In March 2019, we sold our Ocean City outlet center, which had an operating lease right-of-use asset and operating lease liability of approximately $2.5 million.

Our non-cancelable operating leases, with terms in excess of one year, have terms, including certain extension options, that expire from 2028 to 2101. Certain extension options, which are reasonably certain at inception, are used in the calculation of our operating lease right-of-use assets based on the economic life of the asset. Leases with an initial term of 12 months or less (short-term leases) are not recorded on the balance sheet; we recognize lease expense for these leases on a straight-line basis over the lease term. The majority of our operating lease expense is related to ground leases at the following outlet centers: Myrtle Beach Hwy 17, Atlantic City, Sevierville, Riverhead, Foxwoods and Rehoboth Beach and the lease of our corporate office in Greensboro, North Carolina.

For the year ended December 31, 2019, the components of lease costs are as follows (in thousands):
 
 
2019
Operating lease costs
 
$
5,519

Short-term lease costs
 
2,297

Variable lease costs (1)
 
231

Total lease costs
 
$
8,047

(1)
Our variable lease costs relate to our ground leases where increases in payments are based on center financial performance.

The discount rate applied to measure each operating lease right-of-use asset and operating lease liability is based on our incremental borrowing rate (“IBR”). We consider the general economic environment and our credit rating and factor in various financing and asset specific adjustments to ensure the IBR is appropriate based on the intended use of the underlying lease. The lease term and discount rates are as follows:
 
 
2019
Weighted - average remaining lease term (years)
 
50

Weighted - average discount rate
 
5.0
%


Cash flow information related to leases for the year ended December 31, 2019 was as follows (in thousands):
 
 
December 31, 2019
Operating cash outflows related to operating leases
 
$
5,569



Maturities of lease liabilities as of December 31, 2019 for the next five years and thereafter are as follows (in thousands):
2020
 
$
5,568

2021
 
5,613

2022
 
5,669

2023
 
5,709

2024
 
5,765

Thereafter
 
226,876

Total lease payments
 
$
255,200

Less imputed interest
 
163,963

Present value of lease liabilities
 
$
91,237



Information as Lessee Under ASC 840

As of December 31, 2018, our non-cancelable operating leases have terms, including certain extension options, that expire from 2019 to 2101. Rental payments for these leases totaled approximately $7.2 million and $7.1 million, for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively. As of December 31, 2018, the majority of our rental payments are related to ground leases at the following outlet centers: Myrtle Beach Hwy 17, Atlantic City, Ocean City, Sevierville, Riverhead, Foxwoods and Rehoboth Beach and the lease of our corporate office in Greensboro, North Carolina. The contingent portion of our ground lease payments is based on center performance and/or changes in an index.

For operating leases as of December 31, 2018, minimum lease payments for the next five years and thereafter are as follows (in thousands):
2019
 
$
7,526

2020
 
7,311

2021
 
7,140

2022
 
7,127

2023
 
7,167

Thereafter
 
258,438

Total minimum payment
 
$
294,709