Colony Bankcorp Inc (CBAN) · Oct 28, 2026 · Material agreement

Colony Bankcorp sale-leaseback unlocks capital, adds fixed rent

$1.65M base-rent leaseback — $1.652M initial annual base rent; 2% annual escalators

Colony Bankcorp signed a sale-leaseback for bank properties, raising capital flexibility while adding long-term fixed rent and operating obligations.

Colony is a growing Southeastern community bank expanding its footprint through the pending First Reliance combination while investing in broader fee-generating services and technology. This filing adds a capital-management move to that expansion story: Colony Bank is selling branch real estate to TFE CLBA LLC and leasing it back, rather than changing how the branches serve customers.

The transaction improves near-term capital flexibility, but the filing does not disclose the sale proceeds. The lease states that the parties are implementing a sale of the properties followed by a leaseback, with the property described as owned by the landlord and Colony retaining possession and use. That can release capital tied up in owned real estate, but investors cannot yet judge the cash proceeds, gain or loss on sale, or capital benefit because those figures are absent from the provided filing.

The hidden cost is a long, mostly fixed occupancy commitment. Colony owes $1.652 million of annual base rent in the first rent year, with 2% compounded increases thereafter, and the lease runs through October 31, 2041 before the optional 15-year renewal. Because this is a triple-net lease, Colony also remains responsible for property taxes, utilities, repairs, insurance and other operating costs rather than simply paying rent. 〔0〕

The agreement preserves branch continuity, not strategic flexibility. Colony must continuously operate each location as a retail bank branch, and a failure to maintain operations can become an event of default. 〔1〕 The lease also makes the properties one integrated economic unit and gives the landlord broad rights to remove individual properties into separate leases for sale, financing or other business purposes, which preserves landlord optionality but adds complexity to Colony’s real-estate footprint.

The filing is economically two-sided rather than a clean earnings-positive event. It likely supports liquidity and capital efficiency during a period when Colony is expanding, but the cash inflow is undisclosed and the company assumes decades of rent, maintenance and insurance obligations. The filing therefore changes the capital structure of the business more than its operating model.

Bottom line: Colony converts owned branch real estate into capital while keeping the branches, but trades that flexibility for a long-term fixed-cost commitment. The move matters, though the undisclosed sale proceeds prevent a stronger read on its immediate financial benefit.

What to watch next

First Reliance merger closing, expected fourth quarter 2026

Original filing on SEC EDGAR

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