New York, NY, December 3, 2012 — SL Green Realty Corp (NYSE: SLG) and its partner Westcore Properties today announced the sale of the Jersey Property Unit Trust (JPUT) that owns a long-term leasehold interest in Procession House, a Class A office building located at 55 Ludgate Hill in the City of London. The sale to a UK based property company for $100 million closed on November 22, 2012.
SL Green will receive approximately $34.3 million in net proceeds from the completed transaction and realize an internal rate of return in excess of 20% on its investment. SL Green and Westcore acquired the property’s mortgage in September 2010. When the mortgage defaulted in June 2012, Green Loan Services LLC exercised remedies and put the property into receivership.
David Schonbraun, Co-Chief Investment Officer commented, “The sale of Procession House represents the highly successful conclusion of what was a unique investment for SL Green, outside our usual geographic focus, but certainly within our debt investment and special servicing expertise.”
Procession House, built in 1999, is a fully-occupied 9,773 square-meter (105,195 sq. ft.) building located over the City Thameslink Station. The 9,129 square-meter (98,262 sq. ft.) office component is leased to Goldman Sachs International until September 2024. The remaining retail space is leased as well.
Jones Lang LaSalle’s London investment sales team led by Andrew Hawkins marketed the sale of the asset.
About SL Green Realty Corp.
SL Green Realty Corp., New York City’s largest office landlord, is the only fully integrated real estate investment trust, or REIT, that is focused primarily on acquiring, managing and maximizing value of Manhattan commercial properties. As of September 30, 2012, SL Green owned interests in 77 Manhattan properties totaling 39.3 million square feet. This included ownership interests in 27.5 million square feet of commercial properties and debt and preferred equity investments secured by 11.8 million square feet of properties. In addition to its Manhattan investments, SL Green holds ownership interests in 31 suburban assets totaling 5.4 million square feet in Brooklyn, Long Island, Westchester County, Connecticut and New Jersey, along with four development properties in the suburbs encompassing approximately 0.5 million square feet. The Company also has ownership interests in 31 properties totaling 4.5 million square feet in southern California.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be “forward-looking statements.” All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release that address activities, events or developments that we expect, believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future, including such matters as future capital expenditures, dividends and acquisitions (including the amount and nature thereof), development trends of the real estate industry and the Manhattan, Brooklyn, Westchester County, Connecticut, Long Island and New Jersey office markets, business strategies, expansion and growth of our operations and other similar matters, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by us in light of our experience and our perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors we believe are appropriate.
Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially, and we caution you not to place undue reliance on such statements. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by the use of the words “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “believe,” “intend,” “project,” “continue,” or the negative of these words, or other similar words or terms.
Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by forward-looking statements made by us. These risks and uncertainties include dependence upon certain geographic markets; risks of real estate acquisitions, dispositions and developments, including the cost of construction delays and cost overruns; risks relating to structured finance investments; availability and creditworthiness of prospective tenants and borrowers; bankruptcy or insolvency of a major tenant or a significant number of smaller tenants; adverse changes in the real estate markets, including reduced demand for office space, increasing vacancy, and increasing availability of sublease space; availability of capital (debt and equity); unanticipated increases in financing and other costs, including a rise in interest rates; our ability to comply with financial covenants in our debt instruments; our ability to maintain our status as a REIT; risks of investing through joint venture structures, including the fulfillment by our partners of their financial obligations; the continuing threat of terrorist attacks, in particular in the New York metropolitan area and on our tenants; our ability to obtain adequate insurance coverage at a reasonable cost and the potential for losses in excess of our insurance coverage, including as a result of environmental contamination; and legislative, regulatory and/or safety requirements adversely affecting REITs and the real estate business, including costs of compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Housing Act and other similar laws and regulations.
Other factors and risks to our business, many of which are beyond our control, are described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of future events, new information or otherwise.
Contact:
David Schonbraun
Co-Chief Investment Officer
-or-
Heidi Gillette
Director, Investor Relations
212.594.2700