Town Centre Regulatory News (TOWN)

7 Nov 2007 07:01

Town Centre Securities PLC07 November 2007 For Immediate Release 7 November 2007 TOWN CENTRE SECURITIES PLC ("TCS" or "The Company") Interim Management Statement Town Centre Securities PLC, the Leeds based property investment and developmentcompany, today announces its first Interim Management Statement. The FSA'sDisclosure and Transparency rules require additional statements to be publishedduring the course of each half year period. The Company has made good progress in the year to date and performance is inline with our expectations. This activity has been focused on continuing toinvest in the refurbishment of our own assets, progressing development activityin line with established programmes and strategic acquisition of new sites.Liquidity concerns and recent volatility in short term interest rates add tochallenges for our core tenants in the retailer community, many of whom areexperiencing tougher trading conditions. However, the Company's financialstrength and asset portfolio underpins our confidence in a satisfactory outcomefor the full year. Highlights of our activity during the period include: REIT status • The company elected to become a REIT with effect from 2 October 2007, following the approval by shareholders of changes to the Company's Articles Acquisitions • £12m purchase of a Homebase store in Milngavie, on the outskirts of Glasgow Asset Management • Merrion Centre, Leeds - building work continues on the first Phase to upgrade offices and shopping premises; Sainsbury's Express have opened a store • Deansgate, Manchester - development work progresses to enlarge and upgrade retail space and create apartments on the upper floors • West Park, Harrogate - approved retail and residential scheme and construction work is about to commence • Bath Street Glasgow - refurbishment completed and marketing of serviced apartments to commence Developments • Eastgate Quarters, Leeds - the compulsory purchase process is continuing in line with the programme plan. The Public Inquiry will commence in November 2007 • Whitehall Riverside, Leeds - detailed design for the next 2 office buildings progresses • Piccadilly Basin, Manchester - Planning consent for the retail village and residential around the Marina was granted on 13 September 2007 Purchase of own shares • 235,000 shares have been acquired at an average price of 380p Financing • The company has renewed £45m of its bank facilities until September 2012 • The company has fixed £40m of it's borrowings at 6.44% until October 2009, in addition to £150m of quoted debenture stock at 5.375% repayable in 2031 Edward Ziff, Chairman, commenting, said: "It has become clear that property prices in recent months are falling andactivity levels are down. This is beginning to whet our appetite for buyinginvestment property and I hope we will see attractive opportunities to add toour portfolio. In the meantime, we continue our long term programme of investment to upgradeand refurbish our assets in order to build on our strong foundations. Town Centre Securities remains in a robust financial position which, givencurrent troubled conditions for both the property and financial markets, puts usin a good position to meet the challenges of the year ahead." . -ENDS- For further information, please contact: Town Centre Securities PLC www.tcs-plc.com -----------------Edward Ziff, Chairman and Chief Executive 0113 222 1234Karen Prior, Finance Director Smithfield 0207 360 4900Reg Hoare / Will Henderson . This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange