Boston Pizza Royalties Income Fund T.BPF.UN

25% jump tomorrow? - 20 cent special

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Boston Pizza Royalties Income Fund Announces December 2020 Distribution and Special Cash Distribution
 
Toronto Stock Exchange: BPF.UN
VANCOUVER, BC, Dec. 16, 2020 /CNW/ - Boston Pizza Royalties Income Fund (the "Fund") (TSX: BPF.UN) announced today a cash distribution to unitholders of $0.065 per unit for December 2020 (the "December 2020 Distribution") and a special one-time cash distribution to unitholders of $0.20 per unit (the "Special Distribution"). Both the December 2020 Distribution and the Special Distribution will be paid on January 29, 2021 to unitholders of record at the close of business on December 31, 2020.

In deciding to declare the Special Distribution, the trustees of the Fund considered, among other factors, the recent financial performance of the Fund, Boston Pizza International Inc. ("BPI") and Boston Pizza restaurants in the Fund's royalty pool, the Fund's cash position and debt repayment obligations, internal financial projections for the Fund, BPI and Boston Pizza restaurants in the Fund's royalty pool for the remainder of 2020 and 2021, and the increase in the effective tax rate that would be paid by the Fund if the Fund does not distribute sufficient cash in respect of 2020.

The trustees of the Fund continue to closely monitor BPI's and Boston Pizza Canada Limited Partnership's business as the COVID-19 pandemic continues and consider the best interests of the Fund and its stakeholders. While the COVID-19 pandemic persists, the trustees of the Fund expect that Franchise Sales¹ and SRS² at Boston Pizza restaurants and resulting Royalty³, Distribution Income³ and cash that is available for distribution to unitholders will continue to be adversely affected.

The declaration of the Special Distribution is a departure from the Fund's historical distribution practices and is not expected to become a regular practice in future years. However, the trustees believe that declaring the Special Distribution at this time is a prudent approach to deal with the challenges presented in 2020 by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The trustees of the Fund will continue to closely monitor the Fund's available cash balances and distribution levels, based on its policy of stable and sustainable distribution flow to unitholders.