Re. IFRS Seminar

Land Securities Group Plc 07 February 2005 07 February 2005 LAND SECURITIES HOSTS INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL REPORTING STANDARDS SEMINAR Land Securities Group PLC ('Land Securities' / 'Group') announces that it is today holding an International Financial Reporting Standards ('IFRS') seminar at the London Stock Exchange, Paternoster Square, London, EC4M, which will provide information on the qualitative effect of the move to IFRS on Land Securities financial reports. Land Securities will first report under IFRS for the six months to 30 September 2005. The Company intends to release restated financial statements in June 2005 for the six months ended 30 September 2004 and the year to 31 March 2005. The seminar will be hosted by Andrew Macfarlane, Land Securities' Group Finance Director and the other speakers will be David Holt, Director of Finance and Robert Fryer, Technical Accounting Director. The presentations will cover the following topics:- • Overview of IFRS • Investment portfolio effects • Leases, LS Trillium and other issues • Derivatives, debt and performance measures The underlying performance, economics and strategy of the Group will remain unaffected by the introduction of IFRS. However, the new standards will represent a major change in accounting and reporting. The most significant changes relate to the treatment of investment property valuation movements, contingent tax on capital gains, the reclassification of certain transactions as finance leases, accounting for the 2004 debt refinancing, interest rate hedges and dividends payable. Investment property valuation movements Investment properties will continue to be revalued every six months, however revaluation movements will in future go through the income statement rather than directly to reserves. Contingent tax on capital gains Land Securities will make full provision on its balance sheet for the latent tax on capital gains arising from the revaluation of its investment properties, regardless of whether these liabilities are expected to crystallise. Any movements in that provision will be taken through the income statement. Finance Leases Certain transactions with occupiers, and some leases where the Group is itself a tenant, are likely to be treated as finance leases. In these cases the commercial relationship will effectively be treated as a notional loan, with rent or part of the unitary charge being treated instead as notional payments of principal and interest. Debt refinancing The increase in the nominal value of the Group's bond debt following last year's debt refinancing and the consequent reduction in coupon rates will result in an exceptional non-cash loss and reduced interest expense in the Group's UK GAAP accounts for the year ending 31 March 2005, as previously announced. IAS39 will require the effective reversal of this accounting treatment and the reinstatement of the old debt onto the balance sheet, even though legally it has been extinguished. In addition, the old bonds will be amortised up to the higher redemption amount of the new debt over the life of the new bonds by charging the income statement. The tax treatment of the debt refinancing will be unchanged. Interest rate hedges There will be new criteria to determine when hedge accounting can be applied. Land Securities uses interest rate derivatives to manage its interest rate exposure. Currently, under UK GAAP, these derivatives are treated as hedges and the net interest payable or receivable is taken to the profit and loss account as incurred. Under IFRS it is likely that part of the hedging portfolio, while commercially hedging interest rate exposures, will not qualify for hedge accounting treatment. Any such derivatives will be marked to market through the income statement, which may introduce an element of volatility to reported results. Dividends payable Currently dividends are charged against the profit and loss account when proposed. In future dividends will only be recognised once they are a legal obligation of the Group. Dividends, therefore, will effectively be accounted for on a cash basis. Other, less significant differences resulting from IFRS will be covered in the seminar. A live audio webcast of the presentations will be available on the Group's website at 16:15 (www.landsecurities.com/ifrsseminar). The presentation slides, speaker notes and an archive video webcast will be available tomorrow morning. Important notice The information contained in this press release and the seminar is based on our current interpretation of IFRS. -Ends- For further information, please contact: Land Securities Andrew Macfarlane/Emma Denne/Jen van der Eem Tel: +44(0) 20 7413 9000 Financial Dynamics Stephanie Highett Tel: +44(0) 20 7831 3113 Note to Editors Land Securities is a FTSE 100 company, quoted on the London Stock Exchange. It has been at the forefront of the UK's commercial property industry for 60 years. Today, the Group maintains its market leading position as the UK's largest quoted property company by providing commercial accommodation and property services to a wide range of occupiers. The Group's objective is to create attractive and sustainable returns for its shareholders through its activities, which include property investment, development and property outsourcing. Land Securities holds a market leading position in three areas of the UK commercial property market: • Retail • Central London offices and • Property outsourcing. Its £8.9 billion investment portfolio includes more than 810,000 sq m of office space in Central London and substantial retail holdings in Oxford Street, Tottenham Court Road and Notting Hill Gate. In addition the Group owns 18 shopping centres and 25 retail parks located across the UK. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
UK 100

Latest directors dealings