Re Joint Venture
06 3월 2003 - 4:02PM
UK Regulatory
RNS Number:3588I
Warner Estate Holdings PLC
06 March 2003
WARNER AND BANK OF SCOTLAND CORPORATE BANKING
LAUNCH #223M SHOPPING CENTRE FUND
Warner Estate Holdings PLC, the property investment company ("Warner Estate"),
and joint venture partner Bank of Scotland Corporate Banking ("Bank of
Scotland") are pleased to announce the formation of The Agora Shopping Centre
Fund (the "Agora Fund"), to be owned 50/50 in a joint venture between them.
At its inception, the Agora Fund will comprise six shopping centres located in
the North West of England, valued at #223 million. The aim of the Agora Fund
will be to produce consistent high investment returns from the ownership and
active management of a portfolio of major local shopping centres. Warner Estate
and Bank of Scotland intend to increase the size of the Agora Fund by investing
further in property assets that meet their investment criteria. The six initial
centres will be:
Bolton - Market Place Shopping Centre
Middleton - Middleton Shopping Centre
Preston - Fishergate Shopping Centre
Ellesmere Port - The Port Arcades Shopping Centre
Sale - The Square Shopping Centre
Liverpool - Cavern Walks Shopping Centre
This portfolio has a current rent roll of #15.76 million. The current yield on
the portfolio is 7.1% with a reversionary yield of 8.4%. The total space under
management will be 1.54 million sq.ft.
Warner Estate is selling the three shopping centres that it owns outright at
Ellesmere Port, Sale and Liverpool into the Agora Fund for #67million. The
proceeds from the disposal will be used to reduce gearing and to provide
resources for reinvestment.
Under the terms of the Agora Fund, Warner Estate and Bank of Scotland plan to
invest approximately #50 million in the future re-development and improvement of
the shopping centre portfolio. This investment will build on the current
development of significant extensions at Ellesmere Port and Sale which have been
pre-let to major national retail groups.
Warner Estate will be responsible for property asset management for the Agora
Fund, receiving management fees for that role and a performance fee in the event
of the Agora Fund outperforming certain benchmarks.
Following the launch of the Agora Fund, Warner Estate will retain approximately
#390million of property under management.
Philip Warner, Chairman of Warner Estate commented,
" This a giant step forward for Warner Estate. Together with our partners at
Bank of Scotland we are delivering on our strategy to transform Warner Estate
into a focused asset manager of large-scale property portfolios.
" We are very familiar with the North West and our team has the skills to
generate long term performance from these assets. Each shopping centre has a
good catchment area with the right demographics and is well positioned in the
town. With our plans for the active management of the portfolio, we see
excellent potential for growth in both rental income and capital value.
" This is an important transaction in Warner Estate's history. We now have a
significant presence in fund management and the launch of the Agora Fund frees
up resources for further investment. We are keen to grow the scale of the Agora
Fund and we look forward to a successful long term relationship with Bank of
Scotland."
Bank of Scotland Managing Director of Corporate Banking, Peter Cummings, said:
" This is an excellent opportunity for the Bank of Scotland to team up with
Warner Estate, a well-known and respected UK property management company. One of
Warner's many strengths over the last thirty years has been their ability to
identify areas of growth. We now look forward to delivering value in conjunction
with the Warner team."
-ends-
Date: 6 March 2003
For further information contact:
Warner Estate Holdings PLC City Profile
Philip Warner, Chairman Simon Courtenay
Richard Moore, Property Director Ed Senior
Peter Collins, Finance Director Tel: 020-7448-3244
Tel: 020-7907-5100 E-mail: simon.courtenay@city-profile.com
Web: www.warnerestate.co.uk
Bank of Scotland
David Taylor, Director of Joint Ventures
Tel: 0131-659-0563
Aimee Driscoll, Associate Director of Media
Tel: 0131 243 7016
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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