Goodman and L&G raise £350m for ABPP

Legal & General Property and Goodman Group have raised £350 mln from existing investors for Arlington Business Park Partnership (ABPP), their UK specialised business park fund. The companies also said the raising will bring a significant relaxation of debt covenants within the fund's existing facilities.

The two firms said they initiated a consultation with ABPP's investors and creditors in July 2008 with the aim of strengthening the fund's long-term position. The two partners added that the capital raising is being effected predominantly by way of an asset-for-equity swap. This will result in an increase in the fund's asset base in return for new unit issuance.

A range of fund modernisation measures have been agreed, including enhanced liquidity over the medium term and an upgrading of the fund's corporate governance framework.

Bill Hughes, managing director of Legal & General Property, said: 'These initiatives, agreed through consultation with our investors, will position the fund to maintain good levels of liquidity througha the ongoing market downturn and enhance its appeal to new investors when markets stabilise. Our investors' active participation in, and their support for the transaction has been encouraging and we look forward to the next phase of ABPP's evolution.'

ABPP is a UK business park fund created in 2003 by Arlington Securities Limited and investment partner Legal and General. Goodman and L&G manage the fund. ABPP owns a unique portfolio of high quality business parks in a managed environment spread across the UK.