Lend Lease acquires 50% of Golden Square shopping centre

Media release

In June 2004 Lend Lease signed a conditional agreement with the Performance Shopping Centre Partnership to co-invest and manage the redevelopment of the Golden Square shopping centre alongside the Legal & General Life Fund and clients of Arlington Property Investors.

Under the terms of the agreement Lend Lease has invested £20 million (approximately A$50 million) to acquire a 50% interest in the existing scheme and extension. Lend Lease Retail is the development manager and has been appointed the asset and property manager.

The purchase follows the achievement of planning consents and pre-leasing targets being met under the conditional agreement.

The redevelopment of Golden Square will create a new regional shopping centre for the northwest UK. The existing centre provides 310,000 square feet of retail space with Marks & Spencer, BhS and Next as anchor tenants. The extension, which received planning consent from Warrington Borough Council in June 2003, will provide a further 330,000 square feet of retail space. A new 130,000 square feet Debenhams department store will anchor the new extension, which will feature approximately 60 new shops. Construction is due to commence in March 2005, with Bovis Lend Lease acting as main contractor.

Adrian Chamberlain, chief executive officer, Lend Lease EMEA, commented: "We are delighted that we can bring our retail skills to Warrington and look forward to working with Legal & General and Arlington to create a regional shopping centre which will exceed expectations. Lend Lease has an established track record of developing, designing, building and managing retail assets, and this investment is in line with our UK retail strategy to secure new developments and to grow our assets under management."

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