8th Jun 2005 07:00
Warner Estate Holdings PLC08 June 2005 WARNER ESTATE AND MORLEY FORM £254m REGIONAL OFFICE FUND Warner Estate Holdings PLC and Morley Fund Management have announced theformation of the Apia Regional Office Fund. The Fund will invest in large officeproperties in major regional cities throughout the UK and will be open toinstitutional investment via cash or by contributing suitable property assets. The Fund's portfolio will initially comprise four properties owned by Morley onbehalf of its life fund clients and nine properties owned by Warner Estate, ofwhich eight were previously in the Skipper Regional Office Fund, a joint venturebetween Warner Estate and The Royal Bank of Scotland. The portfolio has acurrent rent roll of £17.3m and the total space under management will be 1.1million sq ft. The aim of the Fund will be to produce consistent high investment returns fromthe ownership and active management of the property portfolio, with the emphasison income generation. Warner Estate will act as asset manager, responsible forsourcing suitable assets and for the active management of the properties andMorley will act as fund manager, responsible for attracting clients, funding andoverall fund strategy. Philip Warner, Chairman of Warner Estate commented, " This is an important step in our stated strategy to increase both theinstitutional investor base of our funds and the quantum of property assetsunder management. We are very pleased that Morley Fund Management has recognisedthe ability of our specialist asset management team to add value and to deliveran impressive performance. Our objective is to expand the Fund as we targetfurther properties and Morley attracts further clients." Richard Jones, Head of Life Property Funds at Morley commented, " Warner Estate has a track record of delivering outstanding performance fromits stable of property funds. We have been impressed by the quality of itsproperty team and with the innovative approach it has to adding value to all ofthe properties that it manages. " This joint venture fits with our successful property business model, where weseek to team up with property partners who are specialists in their chosensectors. Morley brings extensive fund management expertise to thesepartnerships, whilst drawing on the asset knowledge of the partner. "The Apia Regional Office Fund will not only be an excellent vehicle forinvestors looking to gain exposure to the UK office sector, but also for thosewho are looking to diversify their risk and benefit from Warner Estate'sspecialist skills by injecting their own properties into the Fund." Johnny Cameron, Chief Executive, The Royal Bank of Scotland, Corporate Bankingand Financial Markets, commented, "Our relationship with Warner Estate has been excellent. We are delighted to belenders to the expanded fund and we remain impressed with the quality of theWarner Estate team." Following the launch of the fund, Warner Estate will have approximately £1.9billion of property under management. This fund launch follows the announcementof Warner Estate's recommended offer for fellow quoted property investmentcompany Ashtenne Holdings PLC being declared wholly unconditional. DTZ Debenham Tie Leung is acting as advisor to Warner Estate and Morley FundManagement. The Apia Regional Office Fund has the following assets, valued at £254 million: •Apex 123 in Edinburgh (94,683 sq ft) •Bath Street, Glasgow (88,084 sq ft) •St Ann's Wharf, Newcastle (58,272 sq ft) •Yorkshire House, Leeds (81,293 sq ft) •Norfolk House, Manchester (54,358 sq ft) €81 Fountain Street, Manchester (40,100 sq ft) €120 Edmund Street, Birmingham (137,384 sq ft) •Sapphire Court, Solihull (86,553 sq ft) •Ashton and Norfolk House, Milton Keynes (140,000 sq ft) •Westgate House, Colston Avenue, Bristol (90,924 sq ft) •Oakleigh House, Cardiff (41,038 sq ft) •Lever & Surrey House, Kingston upon Thames (159,661 sq ft) •St Georges East, Wimbledon (44,000 sq ft) ___________ 1,114,528 sq ft -ends- Date: 8 June 2005For further information contact: Warner Estate Holdings PLC Morley Fund ManagementPhilip Warner, Chairman Richard Jones, Head of Life Property FundsRichard Moore, Property Director Tel: 020-7809-6000Peter Collins, Finance DirectorTel: 020-7907-5100Web: www.warnerestate.co.uk DTZ Debenham Tie Leung The Royal Bank of ScotlandMike Cutteridge, Director Shaun Gamble, Media Relations ManagerTel: 020-7643-6350 Tel: 020-7672-1921 City ProfileSimon CourtenayTel: 020-7448-3244 About Morley Fund Management Morley Fund Management ('Morley') is a London based, asset management businesswith over £128 billion* under management. The property team manages in excess of£15 billion* of UK and European property assets, making Morley the largestproperty fund manager in Europe. Winners of the high profile Property Week FundManager of the Year Award 2004 and the UK Pensions Awards Property Fund Managerof the Year 2005, the team consists of 60 investment professionals and manages arange of funds on behalf of institutional, pension and retail clients. Morleyhas been at the forefront of innovation in property fund management and haslaunched twelve specialist sector based funds with partners, including theJersey-based Unit Trusts: Igloo Regeneration Fund, Quercus Healthcare Property,The Junction and The Mall. Visit www.morleyproperty.com*Not including mortgage assets, as at 31/03/05 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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