Holding(s) in Company

Great Portland Estates PLC 21 March 2007 LETTER TO: GREAT PORTLAND ESTATES PLC 19 March 2007 Notification of Major Shareholdings under the Transparency Directive 20th January 2007 The Transparency Directive was implemented on the 20th January 2007, UBS AG is now disclosing our shareholdings to you, the Issuer, under the FSA's Disclosure and Transparency Rules, DTR 5 (Vote Holder and Issuer Notification Rules). The Transparency Directive states that where a major shareholder has not been required (because of an acquisition or disposal of voting rights or due to a change in the total of voting rights in issue) to make an announcement to the Issuer prior to the 20th March 2007, then we must do so by that date in any event. To fulfill this obligation, please find enclosed relevant disclosures. We would like to make you aware that UBS AG is now reporting on a disaggregated basis as follows; UBS investment Bank, UBS Global Wealth Management and Business Banking, UBS Global Asset Management DRCM, UBS Global Asset Management Traditional, UBS Global Asset Management Alternative and Quantitative and UBS Global Asset Management IFS. Please note that if you do not receive a Transparency Directive disclosure for all of our disaggregated business groups then we currently have no notifiable holdings in your Company within those disaggregated business groups. TR-1(i): NOTIFICATION OF MAJOR INTERESTS IN SHARES (1). Identity of the issuer or the underlying issuer of existing shares to which voting rights are attached (ii): GREAT PORTLAND ESTATES PLC - GB00B01FLL16 2. Reason for the notification (please state Yes/No): ( ) An acquisition or disposal of voting rights: ( ) An acquisition or disposal of financial instruments which may result in the acquisition of shares already issued to which voting rights are attached: ( ) An event changing the breakdown of voting rights: ( ) Other (please specify) : (X) 3. Full name of person(s) subject to the notification obligation (iii): UBS INVESTMENT BANK 4. Full name of shareholder(s) (if different from 3.) (iv): UBS AG LONDON BRANCH 5. Date of the transaction and date on which the threshold is crossed or reached if different) (v): 16TH MARCH 2007 (SEE NOTE 13) 6. Date on which issuer notified: 20TH MARCH 2007 7. Threshold(s) that is/are crossed or reached: 3.26% 8. Notified details: A: Voting rights attached to shares Class/type of shares Situation previous to if possible using the the Triggering ISIN CODE transaction (vi) Number of shares Number of voting Rights (viii) GB00B01FLL16 5,002,000 5,002,000 Resulting situation after the triggering transaction (vii) Class/type of shares Number of shares Number of voting rights % of voting rights if possible using (ix) the ISIN CODE Direct Direct (x) Indirect (xi) Direct Indirect GB00B01FLL16 5,383,226 5,383,226 3.26% B: Financial Instruments Resulting situation after the triggering transaction (xii) Type of Expiration Date Exercise/Conversion Number of voting % of voting financial (xiii) Period/ Date (xiv) rights that may be rights instrument acquired if the instrument is exercised/ converted. CONVERT 27-FEB-2007 23 MARCH 2007 833,226 0.50% GREAT PORTLAND ESTATES PLC 5 1/4% CNV BDS 2008 #(VAR) 27-FEB-2007 23 MARCH 2007 4,550,000 2.76% ISIN: GB0002479938 CONVERT GREAT PORTLAND ESTATES PLC 5 1/4% CNV BDS 2008 #(VAR) ISIN GB0002479938 Total (A+B) Number of voting rights % of voting rights 5,383,226 3.26% 9. Chain of controlled undertakings through which the voting rights and/or the financial instruments are effectively held, if applicable (xv): UBS AG LONDON BRANCH 5,383,226 3.26% Proxy Voting: 10. Name of the proxy holder: 11. Number of voting rights proxy holder will cease to hold: 12. Date on which proxy holder will cease to hold voting rights: 13. Additional information: THIS DISCLOSURE HAS BEEN MADE TO FULFIL THE BELOW FSA REQUIREMENT: THE TRANSPARENCY DIRECTIVE STATES THAT WHERE A MAJOR SHAREHOLDER HAS NOT BEEN REQUIRED (BECAUSE OF AN ACQUISITION OR DISPOSAL OF VOTING RIGHTS OR DUE TO A CHANGE IN THE TOTAL OF VOTING RIGHTS IN ISSUE) TO MAKE AN ANNOUNCEMENT TO THE ISSUER PRIOR TO THE 20TH MARCH 2007, THEN WE MUST DO SO BY THAT DATE IN ANY EVENT. 14. Contact name: ANGELA HUFF ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR UBS AG 15. Contact telephone number: 020 7568 4981 Annex Notification Of Major Interests In Shares (XVI) A: Identity of the person or legal entity subject to the notification obligation Full name (including legal form for legal entities): UBS INVESTMENT BANK Contact address (registered office for legal entities): 100 LIVERPOOL STREET LONDON EC2M 2RH Phone number: 020 7568 4981 Other useful information (at least legal representative for legal persons): B: Identity of the notifier, if applicable (xvii) Full name: ANGELA HUFF Contact address: 100 LIVERPOOL STREET LONDON EC2RM 2RH Phone number: 020 7568 4981 Other useful information (e.g. functional relationship with the person or legal entity subject to the notification obligation): EQUITIES COMPLIANCE C: Additional information : Notes to the Forms (i) This form is to be sent to the issuer or underlying issuer and to be filed with the competent authority. (ii) Either the full name of the legal entity or another method for identifying the issuer or underlying issuer, provided it is reliable and accurate. (iii) This should be the full name of (a) the shareholder; (b) the person acquiring, disposing of or exercising voting rights in the cases provided for in DTR5.2.1 (b) to (h); (c) all the parties to the agreement referred to in DTR5.2.1 (a), or (d) the direct or indirect holder of financial instruments entitled to acquire shares already issued to which voting rights are attached, as appropriate. In relation to the transactions referred to in points DTR5.2.1 (b) to (h), the following list is provided as indication of the persons who should be mentioned: - in the circumstances foreseen in DTR5.2.1 (b), the person that acquires the voting rights and is entitled to exercise them under the agreement and the natural person or legal entity who is transferring temporarily for consideration the voting rights; - in the circumstances foreseen in DTR 5.2.1 (c), the person holding the collateral, provided the person or entity controls the voting rights and declares its intention of exercising them, and person lodging the collateral under these conditions; - in the circumstances foreseen in DTR5.2.1(d), the person who has a life interest in shares if that person is entitled to exercise the voting rights attached to the shares and the person who is disposing of the voting rights when the life interest is created; - in the circumstances foreseen in DTR5.2.1 (e), the parent undertaking and, provided it has a notification duty at an individual level under DTR 5.1, under DTR5.2.1 (a) to (d) or under a combination of any of those situations, the controlled undertaking; - in the circumstances foreseen in DTR5.2.1 (f), the deposit taker of the shares, if he can exercise the voting rights attached to the shares deposited with him at his discretion, and the depositor of the shares allowing the deposit taker to exercise the voting rights at his discretion; - in the circumstances foreseen in DTR5.2.1 (g), the person that controls the voting rights; - in the circumstances foreseen in DTR5.2.1 (h), the proxy holder, if he can exercise the voting rights at his discretion, and the shareholder who has given his proxy to the proxy holder allowing the latter to exercise the voting rights at his discretion. (iv) Applicable in the cases provided for in DTR 5.2.1 (b) to (h). This should be the full name of the shareholder who is the counterparty to the natural person or legal entity referred to in DTR5.2. (v) The date of the transaction should normally be, in the case of an on exchange transaction, the date on which the matching of orders occurs; in the case of an off exchange transaction, date of the entering into an agreement. The date on which threshold is crossed should normally be the date on which the acquisition, disposal or possibility to exercise voting rights takes effect (see DTR 5.1.1R (3)). For passive crossings, the date when the corporate event took effect. (vi) Please refer to the situation disclosed in the previous notification, In case the situation previous to the triggering transaction was below 3%, please state 'below 3%'. (vii) If the holding has fallen below the minimum threshold , the notifying party should not be obliged to disclose the extent of the holding, only that the new holding is less than 3%. For the case provided for in DTR5.2.1(a), there should be no disclosure of individual holdings per party to the agreement unless a party individually crosses or reaches an Article 9 threshold. This applies upon entering into, introducing changes to or terminating an agreement. (viii) Direct and indirect (ix) In case of combined holdings of shares with voting rights attached 'direct holding' and voting rights 'indirect holdings', please split the voting rights number and percentage into the direct and indirect columns-if there is no combined holdings, please leave the relevant box blank. (x) Voting rights to shares in respect of which the notifying party is a direct shareholder (DTR 5.1) (xi) Voting rights held by the notifying party as an indirect shareholder (DTR 5.2.1) (xii) If the holding has fallen below the minimum threshold, the notifying party should not be obliged to disclose the extent of the holding, only that the new holding is below 3%. (xiii) date of maturity / expiration of the finical instrument i.e. the date when the right to acquire shares ends. (xiv) If the financial instrument has such a period-please specify the period- for example once every three months starting from the (date) (xv) The notification should include the name(s) of the controlled undertakings through which the voting rights are held. The notification should also include the amount of voting rights and the percentage held by each controlled undertaking, insofar as individually the controlled undertaking holds 5% or more, and insofar as the notification by the parent undertaking is intended to cover the notification obligations of the controlled undertaking. (xvi ) This annex is only to be filed with the competent authority. (xvii) Whenever another person makes the notification on behalf of the shareholder or the natural person/legal entity referred to in DTR5.2 and DTR5.3 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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