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LBT - Liberty International Plc - Capital Shopping Centres` GBP525m refinancing

Release Date: 22/01/2010 16:31
Code(s): LBT
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LBT - Liberty International Plc - Capital Shopping Centres` GBP525m refinancing of Lakeside Shopping Centre, Thurrock LIBERTY INTERNATIONAL PLC (Registration number UK3685527) ISIN Code: GB0006834344 JSE Code: LBT Issuer Code: LILI Capital Shopping Centres` GBP525m refinancing of Lakeside Shopping Centre, Thurrock A consortium of 7 banks has advanced a new 7 year, GBP525m loan facility to refinance the Lakeside Shopping Centre, Thurrock. Lakeside is owned and managed by Capital Shopping Centres, the leading UK prime regional shopping centre owner, manager and developer owned by Liberty International PLC. Opened in 1990, Lakeside is one of the UK`s leading regional shopping centres providing 1.43m sq. ft. of retail floorspace. The proceeds of the loan are being used together with the group`s cash resources to redeem in full the current total outstanding loans of GBP545.8m secured on Lakeside otherwise repayable in July 2011, including the redemption at par of the GBP445.8m of associated CMBS notes. The existing loan has a current funding cost of about 5.5%. The hedging arrangements of the new loan require progressively greater levels of interest rate protection over time. Based on the current yield curve, Capital Shopping Centres should see some interest savings during the initial years of the new loan. The funding was arranged by WestImmo and Eurohypo and the lenders are DekaBank, Eurohypo, Helaba, Lloyds, Pfandbriefbank, Santander and WestImmo. Eurohypo is facility agent and WestImmo was documentation agent. The borrower was advised by Linklaters LLP and the lenders by Allen & Overy. Liberty International`s Finance Director, Ian Durant, commented "Liberty International is pleased to have agreed a significant long term bank financing and this speaks well of the quality of Lakeside and the strong support that the group enjoys from its banking relationships. This 7 year loan substantially improves the group`s overall debt maturity profile and refinances one of the group`s largest debt maturities, leaving 2015 as the next significant date for repayment of CMBS related debt." Enquiries: Liberty International PLC Ian Durant Finance Director +44 (0)20 7960 1210 Kate Bowyer Investor Relations +44 (0)20 7960 1250 Public relations: UK: Michael Sandler, Hudson +44 (0)20 7796 4133 Sandler SA: Nicholas Williams, +27 (0)11 447 3030 College Hill Associates
22 January 2010 Sponsor Merrill Lynch South Africa (Pty) Limited This announcement includes statements that are forward-looking in nature. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Liberty International PLC to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Any information contained in this announcement on the price at which shares or other securities in Liberty International PLC have been bought or sold in the past, or on the yield on such shares or other securities, should not be relied upon as a guide to future performance. NOTE FOR EDITORS: BACKGROUND ON LIBERTY INTERNATIONAL LIBERTY INTERNATIONAL PLC is one of the UK`s largest listed property companies and a constituent of the FTSE-100 Index of the UK`s leading listed companies. Liberty International converted into a UK Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) on 1 January 2007. Liberty International owns 100 per cent of Capital Shopping Centres ("CSC"), the premier UK regional shopping centre business, and of Capital & Counties, a retail and commercial property investment and development company. At 30 June 2009, Liberty International owned GBP6.1 billion of properties of which UK regional shopping centres comprised 73 per cent and retail property in aggregate 86 per cent. Adjusted, diluted shareholders` funds amounted to GBP2.6 billion. CAPITAL SHOPPING CENTRES has interests in 14 UK regional shopping centres amounting to some 13 million sq.ft. in aggregate including 9 of the UK`s top 30 regional shopping centres with a market value of GBP4.4 billion at 30 June 2009. CSC`s largest centres are Lakeside, Thurrock; MetroCentre, Gateshead; Braehead, Glasgow; The Harlequin, Watford; and Arndale, Manchester. CSC has a 50 per cent share in the extension of St David`s, Cardiff, which opened in October 2009. LAKESIDE, THURROCK, which opened in 1990, was one of the first out-of-town regional shopping centres in the south of England and, together with the adjoining retail parks, is at the centre of Europe`s largest aggregation of retail floor space. Lakeside is located on the eastern perimeter of London`s M25 orbital motorway and offers approximately 1.4 million sq. ft. of retail and leisure space. It has a catchment area of over 11 million people within 70 minutes` drive time. Lakeside is one of the country`s top shopping centre destinations, with over 250 shops, including four large anchor stores, a nine- screen multiplex cinema, a range of restaurants and cafes and parking space for 13,000 cars. Date: 22/01/2010 16:31:24 Supplied by www.sharenet.co.za Produced by the JSE SENS Department. The SENS service is an information dissemination service administered by the JSE Limited (`JSE`). The JSE does not, whether expressly, tacitly or implicitly, represent, warrant or in any way guarantee the truth, accuracy or completeness of the information published on SENS. The JSE, their officers, employees and agents accept no liability for (or in respect of) any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential loss or damage of any kind or nature, howsoever arising, from the use of SENS or the use of, or reliance on, information disseminated through SENS.