# Highwoods Properties Highwoods Properties is an Asset Manager based in Raleigh, United States. ## Overview - **Organization type:** Asset Manager - **Headquarters:** Raleigh, United States - **Region:** North America - **Address:** Raleigh, NC, United States - **Founded:** 1978 - **Assets under management:** $5B–$7B (Altss estimate) - **Website:** highwoods.com ## Regulatory record - **Reports private funds:** No ## About Highwoods Properties was founded in 1978 and has grown into a publicly traded real estate investment trust (NYSE: HIW) focused exclusively on office properties in the fastest-growing Sun Belt markets. The firm acquires, develops, and operates office buildings, targeting business districts with strong in-migration patterns and lower-density suburban nodes that benefit from the post-pandemic flight to quality. The portfolio spans Atlanta, Nashville, Raleigh, Tampa, Charlotte, Orlando, and Pittsburgh, with significant exposure to the BBD (business district) segments of each city. The firm's strategy centers on owning high-quality, well-located office assets and leasing them to large corporate tenants and government agencies. Confirmed portfolio anchors include Bank of America, Truist, HCA Healthcare, and the State of Tennessee. Highwoods also runs an active development pipeline, having delivered the 150,000-square-foot Virginia Springs II in Nashville in 2023 and breaking ground on GlenLake Park in Raleigh the same year. Fund-structure shape is straightforward: it operates as a traditional equity REIT, funding capital expenditures through retained earnings, revolving credit facilities, and occasional asset recycling — selling non-core buildings to fund higher-growth acquisitions in its target markets. With roughly 350 professionals, Highwoods operates regional offices in each of its core cities to provide local leasing and property management. The firm's total enterprise value hovers in the $5B–$7B range (Altss estimate). In May 2024, Ted Klinck announced the $335 million sale of three non-core Charlotte buildings, paring exposure to older assets and directing capital toward Nashville and Raleigh — the two markets that now represent the firm's highest conviction bets. Adjacent activity includes a ground-up retail and medical-office build-to-suit program, though office remains the dominant vehicle. What structurally separates Highwoods from other office REITs is its single-region concentration. The firm made a deliberate choice to exit coastal and Midwest markets over the past two decades, betting that Sun Belt population growth, lower taxes, and business-friendly regulation would compress cap rates and lift occupancy faster than the national office sector. In 2023, Highwoods completed its exit from Greensboro, capping a multi-year effort to prune subscale submarkets and focus capital entirely on its six largest cities. This geography-first mandate, more than any asset-class innovation, defines the firm's risk posture. ## Sectors - Real Estate ## Offices - Atlanta - Nashville - Orlando - Pittsburgh - Tampa - Charlotte ## People - Theodore Klinck — President and Chief Executive Officer - Brendan Maiorana — Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer - Brian Leary — Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer ## Questions ### How does Highwoods Properties select its target markets? Highwoods exclusively targets Sun Belt business districts with above-average population growth, net corporate in-migration, and state-level tax advantages. The firm exited Midwest and Greensboro portfolios over the last decade to concentrate on six core cities: Atlanta, Nashville, Raleigh, Tampa, Charlotte, and Orlando. Ted Klinck has publicly emphasized the importance of operating local leasing offices in each market to stay closer to tenant demand (per the firm's official communications). ### Who runs investment and leasing decisions at Highwoods? Ted Klinck leads the firm as CEO and President, with Brian Leary as COO overseeing market operations and leasing. Brendan Maiorana, the CFO, manages capital allocation and the asset-recycling program. The firm's regional managing directors in Atlanta, Nashville, Raleigh, and Tampa have substantial autonomy on leasing terms, but capital deployment decisions run through the Raleigh headquarters. ### Does Highwoods develop properties or only acquire existing buildings? Highwoods runs an active development program alongside its acquisition strategy. Recent completions include Virginia Springs II in Nashville (2023), and the firm broke ground on GlenLake Park in Raleigh in 2023. Developments are primarily build-to-suit for credit-rated tenants or speculative builds in submarkets with sub-5% vacancy. The firm funds development through retained operating cash flow and its revolving credit facility. ### Does Highwoods invest outside of office real estate? Highwoods is a pure-play office REIT. The firm occasionally delivers ground-up medical-office or retail build-to-suit projects on land it already owns within its business-district footprint, but these remain incidental. There is no dedicated industrial, multifamily, or retail fund vehicle. The firm's only structural diversification comes from geographic spread across six Sun Belt cities. ### How does Highwoods fund acquisitions, and what is its leverage posture? Highwoods funds acquisitions through a combination of secured property-level debt, unsecured corporate bonds, and proceeds from asset sales. The firm's capital-recycling program — selling older assets in subscale markets and redeploying into core Sun Belt properties — has been the primary growth engine since 2020. As a publicly traded REIT, Highwoods maintains an investment-grade credit rating and targets net-debt-to-EBITDA below 6x. ## Related profiles - [MGE Energy](https://altss.com/profile/mge-energy-inc) - [Eaton Vance Tax-Managed Global Diversified Equity Income Fund](https://altss.com/profile/eaton-vance-tax-managed-global-diversified-equity-income-fund) --- Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/highwoods-properties-inc Maintained by Altss — https://altss.com — methodology: https://altss.com/methodology