Nature of Business and Financial Statement Presentation

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2020

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Nature of Business and Financial Statement Presentation

Nature of Business and Financial Statement Presentation

Description of Business

Brixmor Property Group Inc. and subsidiaries (collectively, the “Parent Company” or “BPG”) is an internally-managed real estate investment trust (“REIT”). Brixmor Operating Partnership LP and subsidiaries (collectively, the “Operating Partnership”) is the entity through which the Parent Company conducts substantially all of its operations and owns substantially all of its assets. The Parent Company owns 100% of the common stock of BPG Subsidiary Inc. (“BPG Sub”), which, in turn, is the sole member of Brixmor OP GP LLC (the “General Partner”), the sole general partner of the Operating Partnership. The Parent Company engages in the ownership, management, leasing, acquisition, disposition and redevelopment of retail shopping centers through the Operating Partnership, and has no other material assets or liabilities other than through its investment in the Operating Partnership. The Parent Company, the Operating Partnership and their controlled subsidiaries on a consolidated basis (collectively, the “Company” or “Brixmor”) believes it owns and operates one of the largest open-air retail portfolios by gross leasable area (“GLA”) in the United States (“U.S.”), comprised primarily of community and neighborhood shopping centers. As of June 30, 2020, the Company’s portfolio was comprised of 398 shopping centers (the “Portfolio”) totaling approximately 70 million square feet of GLA. The Company’s high-quality national Portfolio is primarily located within established trade areas in the top 50 Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the U.S., and its shopping centers are primarily anchored by non-discretionary and value-oriented retailers, as well as consumer-oriented service providers.

The Company does not distinguish its principal business or group its operations on a geographical basis for purposes of measuring performance. Accordingly, the Company has a single reportable segment for disclosure purposes in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”).

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with GAAP for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and notes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) considered necessary for the fair presentation of the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for the periods presented have been included. The operating results for the periods presented are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for a full fiscal year. These financial statements should be read in conjunction with the financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2019 and accompanying notes included in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on February 10, 2020.

Principles of Consolidation

The accompanying unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements include the accounts of the Parent Company, the Operating Partnership, each of their wholly owned subsidiaries and all other entities in which they have a controlling financial interest. All intercompany transactions have been eliminated.

Revenue Recognition and Receivables

The Company enters into agreements with tenants which convey the right to control the use of identified space at its shopping centers in exchange for rental revenue. These agreements meet the criteria for recognition as leases under Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 842, Leases. Rental revenue is recognized on a straight-line basis over the terms of the related leases. The cumulative difference between rental revenue recognized on the Company’s unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and contractual payment terms is recognized as deferred rent and included in Receivables, net on the accompanying unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. The Company commences recognizing rental revenue based on the date it makes the underlying asset available for use by the tenant. Leases also typically provide for the reimbursement of property operating expenses, including common area expenses, utilities, insurance and real estate taxes by the lessee and are recognized in the period the applicable expenditures are incurred.

The Company periodically evaluates the collectability of its receivables related to rental revenue, straight-line rent, expense reimbursements and those attributable to other revenue generating activities. The Company analyzes individual tenant receivables and considers tenant credit-worthiness, the length of time a receivable has been outstanding, and current economic trends when evaluating collectability. Any receivables that are deemed to be uncollectible are recognized as a reduction to Rental income on the Company’s unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.

The Company has made certain elections regarding the treatment of rent deferrals and abatements resulting from COVID-19. See Note 9 for additional information regarding the treatment and impact of COVID-19 rent deferrals and abatements on the Company’s unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

Income Taxes

Brixmor Property Group Inc. has elected to qualify as a REIT in accordance with the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). To qualify as a REIT, Brixmor Property Group Inc. must meet several organizational and operational requirements, including a requirement that it currently distribute to its stockholders at least 90% of its REIT taxable income, determined without regard to the deduction for dividends paid and excluding net capital gains. Management intends to satisfy these requirements and maintain Brixmor Property Group Inc.’s REIT status.

As a REIT, Brixmor Property Group Inc. generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax, provided that distributions to its stockholders equal at least the amount of its REIT taxable income as defined under the Code. Brixmor Property Group Inc. conducts substantially all of its operations through the Operating Partnership which is organized as a limited partnership and treated as a pass-through entity for U.S. federal tax purposes. Therefore, U.S. federal income taxes do not materially impact the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements of the Company.

If Brixmor Property Group Inc. fails to qualify as a REIT in any taxable year, it will be subject to U.S. federal taxes at regular corporate rates and may not be able to qualify as a REIT for the four subsequent taxable years. Even if Brixmor Property Group Inc. qualifies for taxation as a REIT, Brixmor Property Group Inc. is subject to certain state and local taxes on its income and property, and to U.S. federal income and excise taxes on its undistributed taxable income as well as other income items, as applicable.

Brixmor Property Group Inc. has elected to treat certain of its subsidiaries as taxable REIT subsidiaries (each a “TRS”), and Brixmor Property Group Inc. may in the future elect to treat newly formed and/or other existing subsidiaries as TRSs. A TRS may participate in non-real estate related activities and/or perform non-customary services for tenants and is subject to certain limitations under the Code. A TRS is subject to U.S. federal and state income taxes at regular corporate rates. Income taxes related to Brixmor Property Group Inc.’s TRSs do not materially impact the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements of the Company.

The Company has considered the tax positions taken for the open tax years and has concluded that no provision for income taxes related to uncertain tax positions is required in the Company’s unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements as of June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019. Open tax years generally range from 2016 through 2019, but may vary by jurisdiction and issue. The Company recognizes penalties and interest accrued related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense, which is included in Other on the Company’s unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.

New Accounting Pronouncements

In June 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-13, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses (Topic 326). ASU 2016-13 was subsequently amended by ASU 2018-19, Codification Improvements to Topic 326, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses. ASU 2016-13 amends guidance to replace the prior “incurred loss” methodology of recognizing credit losses on financial instruments with a methodology that reflects expected credit losses and requires consideration of a broader range of information. Any unrealized loss on the Company’s financial instruments must be assessed to determine the portion, if any, that is attributable to credit loss and the portion that is due to other factors, such as changes in market interest rates. “Credit loss” refers to any portion of the carrying amount that the Company does not expect to collect over a financial instrument’s contractual life. The Company considers current market conditions and reasonable forecasts of future market conditions to estimate expected credit losses over the life of the financial instrument. Any portion of

unrealized losses due to credit loss is recognized through net income and reported in equity as a component of distributions in excess of net income. The portion of unrealized losses due to other factors continues to be recognized through other comprehensive income and reported in accumulated other comprehensive income. In addition, ASU 2018-19 clarifies that receivables arising from operating leases are not within the scope of ASC 326-20. Instead, impairment of receivables arising from operating leases should be accounted for in accordance with ASC 842. The standard became effective for the Company on January 1, 2020. The Company determined that these changes did not have a material impact on the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements of the Company.

In October 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-16, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815). ASU 2018-16 was subsequently amended by ASU 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848). ASU 2018-16 amends guidance to permit the use of the Overnight Index Swap (“OIS”) rate based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) as a U.S. benchmark interest rate for hedge accounting purposes under ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging. The standard became effective for the Company on January 1, 2019 and a prospective transition approach was required. The Company determined that the adoption of ASU 2018-16 did not have a material impact on the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements of the Company.

ASU 2020-04 contains practical expedients for reference rate reform related activities that impact debt, leases, derivatives and other contracts. The guidance in ASU 2020-04 is optional and may be elected over time as reference rate reform activities occur. The Company has elected to apply the hedge accounting expedients related to probability and the assessments of effectiveness for future LIBOR-indexed cash flows to assume that the index upon which future hedged transactions will be based matches the index on the corresponding derivatives. Application of these expedients preserves the presentation of derivatives consistent with past presentation. The Company continues to evaluate the impact of the guidance and may apply other elections as applicable as additional changes in the market occur.

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-13, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820). ASU 2018-13 amends certain disclosure requirements regarding the fair value hierarchy of investments in accordance with GAAP, particularly the significant unobservable inputs used to value investments within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy. The standard became effective for the Company on January 1, 2020. The Company determined that these changes did not have a material impact on the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements of the Company.

Any other recently issued accounting standards or pronouncements not disclosed above have been excluded as they either are not relevant to the Company, or they are not expected to have a material effect on the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements of the Company.