Confirmation of REIT Status
Big Yellow Group PLC
16 March 2007
16 March 2007
Big Yellow Group PLC
("Big Yellow", "the Group" or "the Company")
Confirmation of REIT Status
On the 17th of January 2007 Big Yellow Group PLC announced, as part of its
quarterly statement that it had elected to convert to a REIT. Pending
clarification of the status of its income HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) had
objected to that notice.
HMRC have now withdrawn their objection and have today confirmed Big Yellow's
eligibility as a REIT, effective from 15 January 2007.
The Group will now carry out a valuation of its qualifying property assets as at
15 January to establish the amount of the 2% conversion charge. The result of
the valuation and amount of conversion charge will be announced to shareholders
when the valuation has been finalised.
The Company intends shortly to convene an EGM to seek shareholder approval for
certain amendments to the Company's Articles of Association in connection with
its conversion to REIT status. The EGM circular will contain full details of the
proposed amendments and the reasons for them.
James Gibson, Chief Executive, commented:
"We are delighted that we have received confirmation of our conversion to REIT
status backdated to 15 January 2007.
We believe that becoming a REIT will be of significant benefit to shareholders
creating an enhanced level of future dividends in a more tax efficient and
transparent structure. In addition we believe that the self storage industry as
a whole will benefit from the creation of a growing specialist REIT sector, with
improved access to capital, driving further development of this relatively young
market."
For further information, please contact:
Big Yellow Group PLC 01276 477811
Nicholas Vetch, Chairman
James Gibson, Chief Executive
Weber Shandwick Financial 020 7067 0700
Louise Robson or John Moriarty
Notes to Editors
Big Yellow Group PLC is one of the leading and most dynamic self-storage groups
in the UK. It was founded in 1998 by Nicholas Vetch, Philip Burks and James
Gibson and listed on AIM in May 2000, moving to the Official List of the London
Stock Exchange in 2002.
Big Yellow has expanded rapidly and now operates from 43 stores in London and
the South, and one in Leeds, with a further 19 stores in development and of the
62, 51 are held freehold and two long leasehold. All the stores have the
distinct yellow branding, in accessible main road locations, with the majority
being within the M25 or in strong urban conurbations. When fully built out the
portfolio will provide approximately 3.79 million sq ft of flexible storage
space.
The Group has pioneered the development of the latest generation of self-storage
facilities, which utilise state of the art technology and are located in high
profile, main road locations. Its focus on the location and visibility of its
buildings, coupled with excellent customer service, has created the most
recognised brand name in the UK self-storage industry.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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