Hermes Offers GBP240m Portfolio

    Interests in 10 Major Funds Brought to the Market on Behalf of BTPSLONDON

    LONDON, Oct. 8 /CNW/ - Hermes Real Estate, on behalf of the British
Telecom Pension Scheme (BTPS), is offering for sale a portfolio of its
interests in ten of the UK's leading real estate vehicles. The interests on
offer total over GBP240m, representing some 17% of BTPS' total holding in
these vehicles and will be offered as a complete portfolio or in one or more
balanced tranches.
    The portfolio offers a unique opportunity to gain a comprehensive
geographic, sector and property spread across the UK real estate market
through some of the leading specialist real estate investment vehicles in the
UK. The high quality portfolio includes the following: WELPUT, Ashtenne
Industrial Fund, Hercules Unit Trust, IPIF, Bluewater Shopping Centre Retail
Trust and X-Leisure.
    The dilution of interests in these vehicles is part of Hermes Real
Estate's strategy, announced on behalf of BTPS in March this year, to commit
c.GBP700m to an International Real Estate investment programme.
    Jonathan Robson, Director at Hermes Real Estate, comments:
    "We believe this portfolio is the best that has been offered over the
last few years. These vehicles have delivered strong investment performance in
recent years and enable investors to achieve exposure to a significant and
diverse pool of some of the best quality assets across all major UK property
sectors. We believe this combination in addition to providing investors with
an alignment with BTPS, who will be retaining 83% of its indirect interests in
these vehicles, will prove extremely attractive to major investors both in the
UK and internationally."
    These vehicles are managed by some of the UK's leading fund managers
including Hermes, Morley Fund Management Limited, Schroder Property Management
Limited, Legal & General Investment Management Limited, Rockspring Property
Investment Managers Limited and Lend Lease Real Estate Investments Limited.
    Hermes Real Estate is being advised by DTZ Corporate Finance.

For further information: Debbie Cracknell, Paul Haines, Clare Duffy at
Redwood Consulting, [phone]; Lloyds Chambers, Portsoken Street,
London, E1 8HZ, Tel: [phone], Fax: [phone], Telex:
8956577/888947, www.hermes.co.uk