The Carlyle Group Announces Joint Venture with Halladale to Develop £100 Million Production and Retail Park in Cumbernauld, Scotland

London - Halladale Group plc, the UK property trading and development company, and private equity firm The Carlyle Group have completed an agreement for a phased acquisition and development of a 64 acre brownfield site at Cumbernauld, Scotland currently owned and occupied by OKI UK Ltd ("OKI"), the UK operations and support division of OKI Europe Limited.

In the first phase of the project Halladale and Carlyle have agreed to finance the development of a new 200,000 sq ft state-of-the art production and office facility for OKI, which will be built on 13.5 acres of land at a cost in excess of £10 million. OKI will occupy the property following completion of the development in August 2005.

Halladale and Carlyle have also agreed on an option to buy the remaining 50.5 acres of the site in phases for a consideration in excess of £20 million. Halladale will initiate the development by demolishing OKI's old production facility and developing up to 330,000 sq ft of new retail warehousing for which there is strong occupier demand.

This is the first commercial property JV that Carlyle has undertaken in the UK. Senior debt for the first phase is being provided by Royal Bank of Scotland. Halladale and Carlyle estimate that the project has a potential end value of up to £100 million.

North Lanarkshire Council has already granted OKI planning permission for the total development, which represents one of the largest retail warehousing planning consents in Scotland. The site is strategically located a mile to the north east of the busy commuter town of Cumbernauld (population c 50,000) and on the main A80 Glasgow to Stirling dual carriageway.

Robert Hodges, Managing Director, The Carlyle Group said, “This agreement is an excellent first step towards the provision of an extensive retail park for the region. We have already identified demand for such a development from potential tenants giving us great confidence in the venture. Halladale has deep expertise in retail centres and an excellent reputation and we are looking forward to developing this project together.”

David Lockhart, Chief Executive of Halladale commented, "We are delighted that we have been selected by OKI to develop this major site which is a reflection on our ability to manage complex development projects. We are also pleased to have Carlyle as our financial partner in its first commercial property joint venture in the UK. This significant development is probably the last planning consent for a major retail park that will be granted in Scotland and offers enormous scope to bring first rate retailers to Cumbernauld."

“It’s great news that agreement has been reached for this new development. As of August 2005 OKI will have a purpose built premises that as well as providing us with a state of the art production facility will also give us an excellent environment in which to work,”said Niall MacDonald, Managing Director, OKI UK Ltd

Culverwell Property Consultants acted for Halladale and Carlyle and ATIS REAL Weatheralls acted for OKI.

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