RNS Number:7438S
Berkeley Group PLC
02 December 2003

2 December 2003

                      UPDATE ON GUNWHARF QUAYS PARTNERSHIP
             BETWEEN THE BERKELEY GROUP PLC AND LAND SECURITIES PLC

The Berkeley Group plc is about to embark on the next phase of its flagship
development of Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth and is now finalising three new
planning applications to submit to Portsmouth City Council to complete the
regeneration of Gunwharf Quays. The application will comprise over 400
residential units, of which 25% will be offered to the local NHS Trust, in
addition there will be over 10,000 sq ft of retail space and a children's
nursery.

Gunwharf Quays is a 33 acre site overlooking Portsmouth Harbour and is being
developed into a waterfront shopping and leisure destination coupled with
residential homes.

The scheme's success is as a result of the vision of Portsmouth City Council,
the local authority, The Berkeley Group who developed the site, and Land
Securities who bought an equal stake with The Berkeley Group in the retail and
leisure part of the development which they have been operating.

This unrivalled partnership has resulted in Gunwharf Quays winning the BURA
Awards for Best Practice in Regeneration 2003 and the English Partnership Award
for Partnership in Regeneration 2003.

With the substantial completion of the retail and leisure development phase,
Land Securities Plc have taken full control of this element with The Berkeley
Group plc focusing on regenerating and developing the next phases of Gunwharf
Quays in partnership with Portsmouth City Council.

Land Securities will pay The Berkeley Group in aggregate for Gunwharf Quays
around #170 million, of which #64 million was paid by April 2003, #90 million is
forecast by the end of April 2004, of which, #85 million has been received in
November, and the remainder thereafter. The remainder is paid to The Berkeley
Group in tranches, the timing of which will be related initially to the base
rents secured and one year thereafter, to the level of turnover rents. The final
amount payable will depend on the turnover element of the rents received.

Gunwharf Quays comprises over 550,000 sq ft of development including 243,000 sq
ft of designer factory outlets, 130,000 sq ft of leisure, 117,000 sq ft of bars
and restaurants, 26,000 sq ft of offices and a 130 bedroom Express by Holiday
Inn hotel which opened in November 2003, and there are also 2,340 car parking
spaces. The scheme is let to 91 top name retailers including Gap, Adidas, Levi
Strauss, Fat Face, Ted Baker, Gieves and Hawkes, Marks & Spencer and Nike. The
leisure includes an 11 screen Warner Village Cinema, a 26 lane bowling complex
operated by Bowlplex and a casino operated by Grosvenor. Over 11 million people
have visited the centre in the first two years.

Adjacent to the commercial area The Berkeley Group have completed 233
residential units with a further 131 units under construction and being sold
with completion forecast throughout 2004.

A W Pidgley, Managing Director of The Berkeley Group commented:

"This is a fantastic project for Berkeley to be involved with. We've broken new
ground in so many respects and it is wonderful that Gunwharf has been recognised
as an exemplar in its field. Our partnership with Land Securities has been a
great experience for Berkeley and we have learned an immense amount from this
link with such an acclaimed company.

I am very proud of Berkeley's contribution to the historic City of Portsmouth
and incredibly pleased that we will be continuing to participate in the growing
vitality of Portsmouth Harbour, through our developments at Gunwharf and Royal
Clarence Yard.

The bringing together of the best from local government and the private sector
is a fantastic accolade and Gunwharf Quays has benefited from having a visionary
local council and the premier operator through Land Securities plc. This is an
operational model for us to replicate."



For further information:

The Berkeley Group                 Smithfield Financial
Roger Lewis                        John Antcliffe
Chairman                           Rupert Trefgarne
01932 868555                       0207 360 4900



                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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