5th Feb 2007 07:30
Land Securities Group Plc05 February 2007 5 February 2007 Land Securities Group PLC ("Land Securities") LAND SECURITIES TRILLIUM COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF LEADING PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP BUSINESS, 'SECONDARY MARKET INFRASTRUCTURE FUND' Land Securities Group PLC announced today that its property partnershipbusiness, Land Securities Trillium ('LST') has completed the acquisition of thespecialist public private partnership ('PPP') business, Secondary MarketInfrastructure Fund ('SMIF'). LST has paid £527 million for the equity of SMIF from former shareholders STARCapital Partners, Halifax Bank of Scotland, and AMP Capital Investors and hasalso assumed SMIF's net debt of circa £400 million. The acquisition brings to LST an equity holding in 79 additional PPP projectstotalling 2.34 million square metres of accommodation. Some 80% of theportfolio comprises public service buildings including schools, hospitals andprisons. The balance of the portfolio lies in infrastructure assets such ashighway maintenance and a stake in a water company. Ian Ellis, Chief Executive, LST, said: "This acquisition positions LST as aleading player in the public private partnership market. Our entry into thesector, just 12 months ago, with our investment in Investors in the Communityensured our position in the primary PPP market. This latest investment in SMIFnow gives us access to the secondary PPP market. The two sectors are showingincreasing convergence and our collective interests amount to some 100 PPPprojects. Our combined expertise in this emerging market will provide ourcustomers with some of the strongest experience in the industry." Bill Doughty, former CEO of SMIF and now Managing Director of LST InvestmentCapital said: "Fully integrating SMIF into the LST business ensures a robustfuture in the PPP sector for the enlarged business. Over the following months wewill be combining our businesses to create a formidable offering of an expandedpool of expertise backed by even greater financial security." It is anticipated that LST will aim to substantially reduce the capital investedin SMIF through the disposal on an interest in mature projects to third partyinvestors, while maintaining minority stakes and ongoing asset managementresponsibility. LST will continue to build on SMIF's excellent track record ofacquiring PPP interests. -Ends- For further information, please contact:Ian Ellis / Emma Denne Stephanie HighettLST / Land Securities Financial DynamicsT +44 (0)20 7796 5500 / (0)20 7413 9000 T +44 (0)20 7831 3113 / +44 (0)7711 079150 Notes to Editors SMIF was set up in 2001 and acquired by STAR in December 2003 with HBOS and AMPsubsequently providing further capital to fund growth. SMIF is now the leadingplayer in the secondary public private partnership market with a portfolio ofequity holdings in 79 PPP projects totalling 2.34 million square metres ofaccommodation. SMIF has an estimated market share in excess of 30% of the dealstransacted in the secondary PPP market. The accommodation portfolio includes: NEP 65,000sq m: the refurbishment, partial rebuilding and maintenance of anestate of office properties for the Inland Revenue within a 10 mile radius ofNewcastle-upon-Tyne. Fully operational. South Tees Hospital 120,000sq m: Financing, design, development, construction,operation and maintenance of the enlarged James Cook University Hospital(formerly South Tees Acute Hospital). Fully operational. Hereford Hospital 40,000sq m: PFI project to design, build, operate and maintainand Acute Hospital in Hereford. Fully operational. Glasgow Schools 337,000 sq m: a 30-year concession to design and build two newsecondary schools and to renovate 27 existing secondary schools. In addition itis to maintain and operate the assets over the life of the concession. Falkirk Schools 60,000sq m: the design, construction, refurbishment, operationand maintenance of five secondary schools in the Falkirk area of Scotland. Fullyoperational. SMIF comprises 89 people, of which 16 form the management team with the balanceresponsible for providing asset management on many of the contracts. SMIFoffers asset management activities including the management of day to dayservices, finance, insurance and life-cycle capital maintenance. The existingmanagement team will have a stake in the business's future returns and growth. Land Securities Trillium Part of the Land Securities Group, Land Securities Trillium is one of the mostestablished and innovative names in property outsourcing. We focus onunderstanding our customers' business and property requirements and meeting themthrough excellent service and innovation. We manage and provide services tonumerous commercial properties nationwide, for a growing number of companies andgovernment departments. These activities sit alongside Land Securities'investment portfolio, worth many billions of pounds, which includes a vast rangeof shopping centres and retail parks as well as London landmark buildings. Weare also involved in a major urban community development programme. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Land Securities