Bank of Ireland Private Banking Limited acquire landmark UK shopping arcade

Today, Monday 4th September 2006, Bank of Ireland Private Banking has announced its £126.1 million (€185 million) purchase, on behalf of clients, of the Victoria Quarter Shopping Arcade in Leeds. This is the latest acquisition Private Banking has made in response to clients' ongoing interest in commercial property. Victoria Quarter is a listed retail arcade, built in the 1900s, spanning 217,000sq feet across three linked shopping malls. Dubbed the 'Knightsbridge of the North', Victoria Quarter is home to 84 retail units, anchored by Harvey Nichols and housing upscale tenants such as Vivienne Westwood and Louis Vuitton.

Located in the main retail street of Leeds; Victoria Quarter is made more attractive by the dynamic growth that Leeds has enjoyed over the past twenty years. Now, firmly established as the commercial and financial centre for the North of England, Leeds is England's fourth largest city. It is the second largest employment market outside of London and represents a GDP of over £13billion per annum. This exceptional growth means that Leeds is now equal in prominence to Manchester and Birmingham. Over 2 million people live within a 30 minute drive of the city centre.

Bank of Ireland Private Banking were advised on the acquisition by CB Richard Ellis.

Peter Collins, Director of Property, Private Banking commenting on the rationale behind the latest acquisition stated:

"Victoria Quarter fits perfectly with our strategy for retail property. It is a dominant scheme situated in a strong local market with excellent prospects and good rental growth. This rental growth will be driven by the current 'tight' market conditions where there is zero vacancy in the retail market and by the considerable asset management opportunities we see with this property.

Victoria Quarter is very much positioned at the top end of the retail market. This end of the market is consistently trading much better than the UK retail market as a whole and there is strong demand from luxury retailers to gain a foothold in the Victoria Quarter Scheme."

Private Banking acquires and manages, on behalf of clients, institutional quality office and retail properties in selected global markets. It focuses on properties that offer strong rental growth potential and opportunities for asset management.

Other recent transactions by the Private Banking Property Team include Stuten 12, a newly renovated office property in Stockholm let to Linklaters as principal tenant, and Cité du Retiro, an office property in the 8th arrondissement in Paris, let to Cartier as their international headquarter.

Note: A photograph of Victoria Quarter Shopping Arcade is available for release.

Contact:

Kevin Quinn
Associate Director, Private Banking
Tel: 01 637 8694