Capital & Regional Regulatory News (CAL)

11 Nov 2005 11:09

Capital & Regional plc11 November 2005 11 November 2005 CAPITAL & REGIONAL PLC: THE MALL BUYS FOUR SHOPPING CENTRES FROM PRUDENTIAL IN £537M ACQUISITION The Mall Fund, the Capital & Regional and Morley managed specialist shoppingcentre fund, has exchanged conditional contracts to acquire four shoppingcentres from Prudential for a total sum of £537 million. This transactionreflects a net initial yield of 5.1%, nominal equivalent yield of 5.65%.Completion is scheduled for January 2006. On completion The Mall will own 25 shopping centres bringing total assets to£2.78 billion at current valuation and more than 9m sq ft of retail floorspace.The new acquisitions mean that The Mall will welcome over approximately 5.3mcustomers a week throughout the UK. Ken Ford, Chief Executive of The Mall comments: "We are delighted to have been selected by Prudential to work with them in thisoff-market transaction. This purchase continues the growth of The Mallbusiness, further enhancing our relationships with our shoppers, retailers,investors and other business and media partners." Philip Nell, Fund Manager for The Mall Fund at Morley Fund Management comments: "When this acquisition completes, The Mall Fund will account for almost 12.5% ofthe IPD All Shopping Centre Series, and the significant diversification benefitsthat this scale brings makes us attractive to smaller investors looking forspecific sector exposure." Chris Taylor, Director Portfolio Management at Prudential Property InvestmentManagers comments: "From our perspective we are delighted at the timing of these sales which are afurther significant step towards rebalancing the Prudential Life Fund'ssignificant overweight position to the shopping centre sector. Through a numberof our other funds, we remain invested in The Mall Fund." The four shopping centres are located in Luton, Uxbridge, Redhill and Bradford. The Arndale Centre in Luton comprises 69,675 sq m (750,000 sq ft) over twofloors and includes an indoor market. The centre has over 130 stores includingDebenhams, Marks & Spencer, Bhs, Next, New Look, Woolworths, River Island,Ottakar's and Boots and over 2,300 parking spaces. The 35,116 sq m (378,000 sq ft) Kirkgate Centre in Bradford has 65 stores onthree levels including Littlewoods, Boots, New Look, WH Smith and River Island,an indoor market and a 550 space car park. The Belfry Shopping centre in Redhill, Surrey comprises 23,039 sq m (248,000 sqft) over two floors with over 50 shops including major national retailers suchas Marks & Spencer, Ottakar's, Top Shop, WH Smith, Mark One and New Look and 776car parking spaces. The Pavilions Shopping centre in Uxbridge totals some 27,870 sq m (300,000 sqft) on a single level with over 90 stores including Marks & Spencer, Peacocks,TK Maxx and Tesco and a 1,100 space car park. Chris Geaves at Strutt & Parker advised The Mall. Stewart Colderick of CBRErepresented Prudential. Notes to editors: About Capital & Regional plc Capital & Regional is the co-investing asset manager which specialises in towncentre shopping centres, out of town retail parks, and urban entertainmentcomplexes. Capital & Regional founded the Mall and Junction Funds in conjunction withMorley Fund Management. It also founded the X-Leisure fund with HermesInvestment Management Limited, and has a number of other joint ventures anddevelopments. Its shares are quoted on the London Stock Exchange. For further information see www.capreg.com About The Mall The Mall is the leading owner and operator of community shopping centres in theUK. The Mall currently has assets of £2.24 billion* in 21 shopping centres*,establishing The Mall as the UK's community shopping centre brand. The MallFund is a specialist property fund managed by Capital & Regional and Morley FundManagement. * pre-completion. For further information see www.themall.co.uk About Prudential Prudential Property Investment Managers Ltd ("PruPIM") is a part of M&G, theinvestment arm of Prudential plc in the UK. As such, it is responsible forinvesting in and managing property investment portfolios on behalf ofPrudential. It has £14.8 billion of funds under management (as at 31/12/04) andis one of the largest property investment managers in the UK. PruPIM manages a UK retail portfolio comprising in excess of £3 billion ofshopping centres, almost £2 billion of high street retail outlets and more than£1 billion of retail warehousing. This comprehensive exposure gives the companyan unrivalled insight into retail markets. About Morley Fund Management Morley Fund Management ('Morley') is a London-based asset management businesswith over £134 billion* under management. The property team manages in excess of£17 billion* of UK and European property assets, making Morley one of thelargest property fund manager in Europe. Winners of the high profile PropertyWeek Fund Manager of the Year Award 2004 and the UK Pensions Awards PropertyFund Manager of the Year 2005, the team consists of 70 investment professionalsand manages a range of funds on behalf of institutional, pension and retailclients. Morley has been at the forefront of innovation in property fundmanagement and has launched eleven specialist sector based funds with partners,including the Jersey-based Unit Trusts: Igloo Regeneration Fund, QuercusHealthcare Property, The Junction and The Mall. For further information see: www.morleyproperty.com *Not including mortgage assets, as at 30/06/05 - ENDS - For further information: Capital & Regional: Martin Barber, Chief Executive Tel. 020 7932 8101 Redwood Consulting: Liz D'Oliveira Tel: 020 7224 4300 Paul Haines Tel: 020 7224 4300 gcg hudson sandler: Michael Sandler / James Benjamin Tel: 020 7796 4133 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange