1st Oct 2007 07:02
Quintain Estates & Development PLC01 October 2007 1 October 2007 Quintain Estates and Development PLC ("Quintain" of the "Company") QUINTAIN ACQUIRES RETAIL PARK IN STRATEGIC MOVE TO FURTHER CONSOLIDATE LAND OWNERSHIP AND DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES AT WEMBLEY Quintain Estates and Development PLC is pleased to announce the exchange ofcontracts for the acquisition of the 12.9 acre Wembley Retail Park (the "Park")from The Junction Ltd Partnership for a total consideration of £85m, whichQuintain will fund from its existing corporate facilities. The acquisition of Wembley Retail Park extends Quintain's ownership at Wembleyto 85 acres. It also adds 162,002 sq ft of retail to the 37,400 sq ft atQuintain's Stadium Retail Park (which is let to McDonalds, Lidl, Blockbuster,Currys) and the Phase 1 consent for 587,000 sq ft of retail and 487,000 sq ft ofentertainment and leisure including 150,000 sq ft of designer outlet shopping. The Park is in the process of being partially redeveloped following a planningconsent that enabled the creation of a new central car park. In addition, thereis 41,000 sq ft of vacant space, of which 7,000 sq ft is secured under agreementfor lease to Dreams, with a further 6,800 sq ft at Heads of Terms stage. Wembley Retail Park is multi-let to occupiers, including Wickes, Halfords,Comet, Land of Leather, Allied Carpets, Harveys and MFI. In total the siteproduces an overall passing rent of c. £3.052m per annum, at an initial yield of3.4% and a reversionary yield of 5.6% (ERV £5,017,413). Parking is provided for440 cars, with the overall building area totalling 226,448 sq ft. Apart from the major lettings, there are complementary uses such as officesuites, two restaurants and a building known as the POD, with a pre-let cafe andwhich has the potential to house several small retail units. On the edge of theretail scheme fronting Fulton Road are five industrial units and along WatkinRoad a further three industrial units, which together account for 45,245 sq ft. Nick Shattock, Deputy Chief Executive of Quintain said: "This acquisition allows us to create multiple active management opportunitieswhich, when considered with our other current retail holdings at Wembley, onlyQuintain can exploit. The case for the purchase is compelling, in the light ofour current plans to submit a further masterplan application for Phase 2 of thedevelopment on the 15 acre Palace of Arts and Industry site, which is identifiedby Brent Council guidance as suitable for between 1.6m sq ft and 2.2m sq ft, andwhich would be in addition to the existing 6.5m sq ft consent. "We also have the opportunity to considerably raise the profile of the Park andpotentially take the industrial elements into mixed use or residential." -ENDS- For further information, please contact: QuintainNick ShattockRebecca WorthingtonTel: +44 (0)20 7495 8968 Financial DynamicsStephanie HighettDido LaurimoreLauren MillsTel: +44 (0)20 7831 3113 Notes to Editors Quintain Estates and Development PLC is a leading property investment anddevelopment company, listed on the London Stock Exchange. Quintain has three areas of focus: Fund Management; Investment Portfolio; andSpecial Projects, which consists of the Company's larger and typically complexassets - such as Wembley - that gain returns from planning and developmentopportunities. Wembley Quintain's current Wembley development involves the transformation of the 72acres of land surrounding Wembley Stadium into a mixed-use development.Transposed onto central London, this regeneration site would cover TrafalgarSquare, Leicester Square, Covent Garden, and all the land in between. Planning consent has been granted for 6.2 million sq ft (576,000 sq m) ofresidential, retail, commercial and leisure space on 59 acres, with potentialfor up to a further 2 million sq ft on an adjoining 13 acres, totalling almost8.5 million sq ft (789,600 sq m). The result will be the creation of an urbanenvironment that will dramatically enhance the experience of those visiting theNational Stadium and the world famous Wembley Arena. Masterplanned by Lord Rogers, the £2.3 billion development will createapproximately 7,000 new jobs and 4,200 new homes. In addition to Wembley, Quintain is involved in a variety of projects across theUK, including the regeneration of the 190-acre (8,276,400 sq ft / 769,182 sq m)Greenwich Peninsula site, a 900,000 sq ft (83,600 sq m) zero-carbon developmentat Middlehaven under the Bioregional Quintain brand, and a 1 million sq ft(92,900 sq m) mixed use development at City Park Gate, Birmingham. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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