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St. Modwen Properties PLC

St. Modwen's acquisition of 2,500 acre BP portfolio triggers £3 billion regeneration project in South Wales

Strengthening its position as the UK's leading expert in the remediation and regeneration of brownfield land, St. Modwen has completed the acquisition of a 2,500 acre portfolio of disused BP sites across the UK and in doing so, has boosted its national land bank to over 9,500 acres (gross). 

The sale of the portfolio is only the second time that BP has approached the open market to dispose of its disused sites. The first time was for the former 1,060 acre Llandarcy oil refinery in Neath, South Wales which St. Modwen acquired in May 2008 and is now transforming into the £1.2 billion Coed Darcy urban village. 

Over 2,000 acres of the portfolio is situated in South Wales and together with Coed Darcy, these newly acquired Welsh sites will now form part of a massive £3 billion linked development of circa 3,000 acres that will completely transform an area extending from Neath Port Talbot to Swansea. The linked development will take between 20-30 years to complete and will focus on four key areas: 

• Education - the 100 acre Transit site, which is currently being promoted by Swansea University for its £200 million second campus (Bay Campus).

• Employment - the 1,050 acre Baglan Bay, a former Petrochemicals site earmarked to provide over 6 million sq ft of employment space, as well as some residential units. 

• Housing - the 1,060 acre former Llandarcy oil refinery which St. Modwen is currently transforming into the £1.2 billion Coed Darcy urban village with 4,000 homes. 

• Leisure - the 1,000 acre Crymlyn Burrows, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) will be retained as a protected leisure destination along the South Wales coastline. 

The portfolio was acquired for a nominal sum with an undisclosed dowry received from BP in exchange for St. Modwen carrying out remediation works. St. Modwen has now acquired all of BP's disused land in the UK. 

Bill Oliver, Chief Executive, St. Modwen says:

"This transaction confirms our ability to keep adding strategic development sites to our UK land bank. It is also a testament to our remediation expertise and skill as a developer, through which we have established lasting partnerships with international companies such as BP. It is as a result of our expertise that we are trusted to remove the risk from development sites and leave a legacy to be proud of."

David Toman, BP's General Manager for Regeneration adds:

"As a result of their professionalism and proven expertise in this field, St. Modwen's team at Coed Darcy is already two years ahead of schedule with the remediation works on this important long term development project. We are pleased to be renewing our partnership with the company via this latest transaction which leaves our portfolio of disused sites in a safe pair of hands and means that BP's proud history in Wales will live on through the regenerative projects that St. Modwen creates in its place."

  

Note to Editors

St. Modwen is the UK's leading regeneration specialist, operating across the full spectrum of the property industry through a network of seven regional offices and a Birmingham based head office. The company is wholly focussed upon regeneration with expertise in brownfield land renewal, partnering with industry, town centre regeneration, Innovation Centres and education projects www.stmodwen.co.uk 

26 November 2009 

ENQUIRIES:

St. Modwen Properties PLC	0121 222 9400
Bill Oliver, Chief Executive	www.stmodwen.co.uk
Tim Haywood, Finance Director
Charlotte McCarthy, PR Manager
College Hill
Gareth David	020 7457 2020

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