| Thu 28 Oct 2004, 14:26 | | STATEMENT RE CAPITAL & COUNTIES USA INC |
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LIBERTY INTERNATIONAL PLC - STATEMENT RE CAPITAL & COUNTIES USA INC
LIBERTY INTERNATIONAL PLC
(Registration number UK3685527)
ISIN Code: GB0006834344
JSE Code: LBT
Issuer Code: LILI I
28 October 2004
LIBERTY INTERNATIONAL PLC
CAPITAL & COUNTIES USA INC - ACQUISITIONS FOLLOWING GHIRARDELLI SQUARE DISPOSAL
Attached is a press release issued by Capital & Counties USA Inc., a wholly
owned subsidiary of Liberty International PLC, concerning three new
acquisitions.
Enquiries:
John Managing Director of Capital & 020 7887
Saggers Counties and Director of 7041
Liberty International
CAPITAL & COUNTIES USA INC
ACQUISITIONS FOLLOWING GHIRARDELLI SQUARE DISPOSAL
Since the disposal announced in June 2004 of the Ghirardelli Square investment
in San Francisco, Capital & Counties USA Inc., wholly owned subsidiary of
Liberty International, has completed three new acquisitions.
A 154,000 sq.ft. open air shopping centre has been acquired in Walnut Creek, one
of the most affluent communities in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay
area. Average household income in Walnut Creek is nearly $100,000 per annum.
The Center was built in 2002 and is anchored by Northern California`s premier
upscale supermarket, Andronico`s. Tenants also include The Container Store, Ann
Taylor Loft and Men`s Wearhouse. The Center adjoins the prestigious 700,000
sq.ft. open mall Broadway Plaza and is in a location where new leisure
facilities and retail developments are providing much needed additional space
for traders wanting to expand into what has become a regional retail
destination. The investment has an initial yield of 6.7% on the purchase price
of $72.5 million and an existing loan of $41 million has been assumed.
Capital & Counties USA has also acquired a 75,000 sq.ft. campus-style Medical
Centre on five acres, 8 miles South of Walnut Creek. This has ten separate
buildings all let for medical use - an established US asset class and one which
the company already has exposure to in its nine storey medical building at
Parnassus in San Francisco. The purchase price is $20 million with an initial
yield of 7.6%. There is further development potential.
The third purchase is a retail development site of 42 acres at Antioch, Contra
Costa County, California. This land is adjacent to a proposed new freeway North
East of the Bay, and when developed will form part of a newly established retail
hub in an area which has one of the fastest growing populations in Northern
California.
Funds for these purchases derive from the $45 million proceeds of sale of
Ghirardelli Square together with the successful refinancing of the Serramonte
Shopping Center in San Francisco where the previous $64 million loan (at 6.9%)
has recently been repaid and a new 7 year loan of $95 million arranged at 4.8%.
Additional notes on Capital & Counties and Liberty International for
information:
Capital & Counties
Capital & Counties is the wholly owned retail and commercial property subsidiary
of Liberty International PLC and controls property investments approaching GBP1
billion. This includes significant holdings in Central London, particularly the
West End, Mid Town and the South Bank. The company also owns offices around the
M25 as well as major retail interests both in Central London and a number of UK
cities. As well as its UK interests, Capital & Counties has a US property
company based in San Francisco with assets in Northern and Southern California.
Liberty International PLC
Liberty International PLC is a major UK listed property group owning 100 per
cent of Capital & Counties together with Capital Shopping Centres PLC, the
leading UK regional shopping centre business. The Group`s property assets
amounted to over GBP5.0 billion and shareholders` funds amounted to over GBP3
billion at 30 June 2004.
Liberty International has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since July
1992, where it is a constituent of the FTSE-100 index of the UK`s leading
companies, and is also listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
This announcement includes statements that are forward-looking in nature.
Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and
other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of
Liberty International PLC to be materially different from any future results,
performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements. Any information contained in this announcement on the price at
which shares or other securities in Liberty International PLC have been bought
or sold in the past, or on the yield on such shares or other securities, should
not be relied upon as a guide to future performance.
Sponsor
Merrill Lynch
