26th Feb 2007 07:01
Capital & Regional plc26 February 2007 26 February 2007 CAPITAL & REGIONAL PLC: X-LEISURE ACQUIRES XSCAPE MILTON KEYNES AND XSCAPE CASTLEFORD TO GROW TO £900MILLION Capital & Regional plc, the co-investing property asset manager, today announcesthat the X-Leisure Fund has acquired Xscape Castleford and Xscape Milton Keynesfrom its partnerships with clients of Rockspring Property Investment ManagersLimited and consequently the X-Leisure Fund has grown to over £900 million grossassets. For Capital & Regional this is a merger of its partnership interests into theX-Leisure Fund. Its total exposure to leisure remains unchanged but diversifiedover a larger portfolio. Its two partnership interests are exchanged for 29.1munits in the X-Leisure Fund, increasing its share of the fund from 10.6% to20.02%. At the latest published X-Leisure unit price the partnerships, which are bothmanaged by C&R, received a gross value of £192m for the two properties,substantially in excess of the £179m valuation at 30 June 2006. C&R owned 50%of Milton Keynes and 66.7% of Castleford. Construction started on Milton Keynesin 1998, and over the period since C&R has made a total profit on its share ofthe two developments of £36.7 million. From the partnership's viewpoint the total consideration has been satisfied bythe issue of 29.1m X-Leisure units to C&R, a contract for difference for afurther 14.6 X-Leisure units issued to a client of Rockspring, cash of £16missued to another client of Rockspring and debt and working capital of £99m. PY Gerbeau, Chief Executive of X-Leisure, commented: "We are delighted to mergethe ownership and management of the majority of Capital & Regional's leisureinterests in a single powerful vehicle, giving greater focus and clarity of theX-Leisure and Xscape brands to business partners and investors alike. Leisuredestinations have grown phenomenally in popularity over the past few years, bothwith consumers and investors. The success of our business model focuses onproviding our customers with a unique leisure experience, in association withpartnerships with key brands and business partners. It also provides ourinvestors with opportunities to diversify their exposure to include leisureproperty. This unique approach to the leisure industry, supported by strong andkey partnerships, has driven over fifty million visitors a year to ourdestinations. Plus, our high performing portfolio combined with an establishedtrack record forms a solid foundation for the market's long-term faith in ourbusiness model and leisure property". Robert Palmer, Director of Rockspring Investment Managers Limited, said: "Having been an investor in Xscape for six years, we are pleased to have now beengiven this opportunity to broaden and diversify our investment into the widerX-Leisure Fund, and through the innovative structure that has been devised, welook forward to being part of its ongoing growth and success". Alasdair Evans, Fund Director of X-Leisure, commented: "Xscape Milton Keynesand Xscape Castleford are two of the best leisure facilities in the UK whichwill help theX-Leisure Fund to improve growth, diversity and outperformance. We have brokennew ground in two areas. The institutional asset class of leisure has beenbroadened to include real snow ski slopes; and property derivatives have beenused to effect an asset-specific transaction for the first time. We intend togrow assets to £1.5 billion over the next five years through the acquisition ofnew properties and the introduction of new investors." Notes to Editors: 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 the X-Leisure Fund The X-Leisure Fund (the X-Leisure Unit Trust and its subsidiary entities) is theUK's largest leisure fund, with eighteen major leisure destinations around theUK including Brighton Marina, 02 Centre London and West India Quay, LondonDocklands. The X-Leisure Fund has eighteen properties and has grown from £500mgross assets when it began in March 2004 to over £900m today. Investmentperformance has been driven by Capital & Regional's specialist leisure divisiondeveloping the right mix of leisure partners and special events to attract over50 million visitors per year, so driving occupier demand and rental growth. For further information see: http://www.x-leisure.co.uk About Xscape Castleford The 430,000 sq ft Xscape Castleford opened in October 2003 and welcomes almost3.5m visitors a year. It was identified as the top leisure attraction in the UKby the Times in 2006. It boasts a 170m real snow slope, two rock climbingwalls, an aerial assault course, indoor skateboard park, Laserzone, bowling,multiplex cinema, and twenty bars and restaurants. For further information see: http://www.xscape.co.uk About Xscape Milton Keynes Xscape Milton Keynes was the first Xscape destination, opening in November 2000and is now visited by 6 million people a year. It consists of some 550,000 sqft leisure and retail accommodation anchored by a 170m real snow slope. Othertenants include a 16-screen Cineworld cinema, Airkix indoor skydiving, a twentyfour-lane bowling centre, Virgin Active health club, sixteen restaurants, barsand cafes and a range of urban lifestyle retailers such as Ellis Brigham,Billabong, Rip Curl, O'Neill and Quiksilver. For further information see: http://www.xscape.co.uk - ENDS - For further information: Capital & Regional plc: PY Gerbeau, CEO C&R Leisure DivisionTel: 020 7932 8063 William Sunnucks, Group Finance DirectorTel. 020 7932 8125 Maitland Martin LeeburnTel: 020 7379 5151 Emma BurdettTel: 020 7379 5151 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Capital & Regional