Town Centre Regulatory News (TOWN)

14 Jan 2008 09:16

Town Centre Securities PLC14 January 2008 For Immediate Release 14 January 2008 TOWN CENTRE SECURITIES PLC MARKS & SPENCER TO OPEN NEW FLAGSHIP LEEDS STORE MARKS & SPENCER has announced plans to create one of the retail giant's largeststores outside London to anchor the new Eastgate Quarters development in Leeds. The company has agreed terms on 18,250m(2) square meters of trading space withThe Leeds Partnership, which is developing the retail-led scheme in a 90:10joint venture between Hammerson plc and Leeds-based Town Centre Securities plc. The new store will complement Marks & Spencer's existing Briggate store in Leeds, and will include a complete range of womenswear, menswear, childrenswear, as well as a full home offering, food hall with bakery and restaurant. The Leeds Partnership gained planning permission for the £800 milliondevelopment, located in the Eastgate and Harewood Quarters of the city, inFebruary 2007. The scheme will include more than 100 retail units across 110,000m(2) as well as restaurants and bars, a hotel, office accommodation, up to 600new homes and 2,700 associated car parking spaces. The development will also beanchored by a 26,000 m(2) John Lewis store. It is anticipated that constructionof Eastgate Quarters will begin in 2009, with completion in 2012. John Richards, Chief Executive of Hammerson, said: "I am delighted that one of the UK's most successful retailers has committed toour scheme. This is a major step forward in our bid to bring a retail offer ofthe highest quality to the people of Leeds and the surrounding areas. SecuringMarks & Spencer as an anchor tenant is a great coup for the development." Edward Ziff, Chairman and Chief Executive at Town Centre Securities plc said: "Marks & Spencer's decision to open a new store in Leeds gives a real boost toour plans for the city. We have been closely involved in Leeds for many yearsand are pleased to increase that involvement through the development of thisexciting scheme." Iain Perkins, Marks & Spencer Divisional Executive, said: "The Eastgate Quarter will be a fantastic shopping environment. We are delightedto be anchoring the development with a brand-new M&S that will complement ourexisting Briggate store and strengthen the M&S offer across Leeds." 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 / Miranda Good Notes to editor Hammerson plc is a FTSE-100 Real Estate Investment Trust which operatesprincipally in the retail sector. Its £7.5 billion portfolio, which provides 1.3million m(2) of retail space and 320,000 m(2) of offices, includes 14 majorshopping centres and 18 retail parks. Hammerson has a track record ofsuccessfully carrying out major city centre regeneration projects. Recentaward-winning developments include Bishops Square in London and Bullring inBirmingham. The Company is currently working with several councils to deliverretail-led mixed-use regeneration projects in cities including Aberdeen, Bristol, Leeds and Leicester. For more information, visit www.hammerson.com. Town Centre Securities plc is a property investment and development companybased in Leeds and is one of the city's major property investors. The companyportfolio exceeds £450 million with core activity centred in Leeds andManchester. Town Centre Securities has recently been awarded best mixed usedevelopment for its regeneration of the Piccadilly Basin site in Manchester byProperty Executive. For more information, visit www.tcs-plc.co.uk This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange