NEW YORK, NY — August 19, 2002 — Investment firm W. P. Carey & Co. LLC (NYSE: WPC) announced today that it has acquired and leased-back the award winning corporate headquarters and main distribution facility from Miami, FL-based Trends Clothing Corporation, for approximately $14.8 million. Trends Clothing is one of the country's leading manufacturers and distributors of clothing apparel.
Under the terms of the sale-leaseback transaction the facilities, which recently won the 2002 Tilt-Up Concrete Association (TCA) Annual Achievement Award in the distribution and warehouse category, total approximately 247,000 square feet of space and will be leased under a 15-year bond-type net lease. The facility, located within the Beacon Station Business Park, the newest and largest industrial park in Miami-Dade County, includes Trends Clothing's corporate headquarters, as well as its entire distribution operation. The facility was purchased on behalf of Corporate Property Associates 15 Incorporated (CPA®:15), W. P. Carey's newest publicly held non-traded real estate investment trust (REIT) and a member of the $3.5 billion W. P. Carey Group.
"This property represents the latest addition to the growing portfolio of properties acquired by W. P. Carey's newest real estate investment trust CPA®:15," said Anne R. Coolidge, Executive Director at W. P. Carey. "It also represents the continued success of our Acquisitions Team, which reported a record volume in acquisitions during the first six months of the year, in helping Corporate America realize the advantages of sale-leaseback financing."
Trends Clothing Corporation is a leading designer and marketer of children's, junior's, and men's fashion apparel. The Company, created in 1989 by its Chief Executive Officer Tom Cabrerizo, designs, sources and distributes apparel under such brand names as BUM Equipment, Girl Rebel, Jimmy Z, l.e.i., Trendy Kidz and Blue Marlin. Trends' products are sold through a variety of retail channels, including mass merchants, department stores, national chains and specialty stores.
W. P. Carey completed $168 million in sale-leaseback transactions during the second quarter of 2002, compared to $74 million for the comparable period last year. This follows W. P. Carey's strong first quarter during which the firm completed more than $117 million in acquisitions, as compared to $44 million during the first quarter of 2001.
CPA®:15 invests in single-tenant commercial properties which are typically purchased under a long-term, triple-net lease in which the tenant is responsible for maintaining the premises, insuring the buildings and paying real estate taxes. CPA®:15 launched in November 2001, and as of June 30, 2002 had an ownership interest in more than 20 properties net leased to five tenants.
Founded in 1973, W. P. Carey & Co. specializes in corporate real estate financing through the corporate net lease, or sale-leaseback structure. The firm and its affiliates continue to be the leading lessors of net leased corporate real estate in the United States. As the largest publicly traded limited liability company in the world, the company owns and/or manages more than 450 commercial and industrial properties throughout the United States and Europe comprised of more than 55 million square feet of space.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Federal securities laws. A number of factors could cause the company's actual results, performance or achievement to differ materially from those anticipated. Among those risks, trends and uncertainties are the general economic climate; the supply of and demand for office and industrial properties; interest rate levels; the availability of financing; and other risks associated with the acquisition and ownership of properties, including risks that the tenants will not pay rent, or that costs may be greater than anticipated. For further information on factors that could impact the company, reference is made to the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
