Capital & Regional Regulatory News (CAL)

1 Apr 2005 14:05

Capital & Regional plc01 April 2005 1 April 2005 CAPITAL & REGIONAL PLC: THE JUNCTION COMPLETES £180 MILLION OF RETAIL PARK ACQUISITIONS Capital & Regional plc, the co-investing property asset manager, today announcesthat The Junction, the retail park owner and operator, in which it has a 27.3%interest, has purchased Telford Forge Retail Park and Slough Retail Park for atotal consideration of £180 million. The Junction now owns 19 retail parksbringing total assets to £1.2 billion and more than 3.9 million sq ft offloorspace. The Junction has exchanged contracts with Stadium Retail Investments to purchaseTelford Forge Retail Park for £105 million, reflecting a net initial yield of4.1% and an equivalent yield of 5%. Tenants on the 315,000 sq ft park, whichbenefits from Open A1 planning consent, include Sainsbury's, Next, TK Maxx,Arcadia, Boots and JJB. Slough Retail Park was purchased from Land Securities for £75 million, whichreflects a net initial yield of 5.8%. The retail park, which has a bulky goodplanning consent, comprises 150,000 sq ft and is occupied by DFS, Homebase,Wickes, MFI, Harveys, Furniture Land and Land of Leather. Commenting on the deals Andrew Lewis-Pratt, CEO of The Junction said, "Theseacquisitions complement our already strong portfolio of prime retail parksthroughout the UK. The purchase of Telford Forge Shopping Park is aparticularly significant addition as it reflects our intention to create a morebalanced portfolio of Open A1 and Bulky Goods parks. We will continue to investin destination retail parks with high development and asset managementpotential, particularly those dominant within their catchments." About The Junction The Junction owns and operates a £1.2 billion destination retail park portfolio,which includes 19 prime retail parks located throughout the UK. Capital &Regional and Morley Fund Management set up The Junction in 2002. For further information visit: www.thejunction-uk.com 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 Morley Fund Management Morley Fund Management ('Morley') is a London based, asset management businesswith over £128 billion under management. The property team manages in excess of£15 billion of UK and European property assets, making Morley one of the largestproperty fund managers in the UK. Winners of the high profile Property Week FundManager of the Year Award 2004, the team consists of 60 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: Ashtenne Industrial Fund, QuercusHealthcare Property, The Junction and The Mall. www.morleyproperty.com - ENDS - For further information: Capital & Regional:Martin Barber, Chief Executive Tel. 020 7932 8101William Sunnucks, Group Finance Director Tel. 020 7932 8125 Redwood ConsultingKate Hewson Tel: 020 7224 4300 gcg hudson sandlerMichael Sandler / James Benjamin Tel: 020 7796 4133 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange