Re Joint Venture

Land Securities Group Plc
11 January 2006



11 January 2006


Land Securities Group PLC ('Land Securities' / 'Group')


LAND SECURITIES TRILLIUM AND MILL GROUP FORM JOINT VENTURE PARTNERSHIP



Land Securities Group PLC is pleased to announce that its property outsourcing
business Land Securities Trillium has reached agreement in principle with Mill
Group, a privately held group of companies, to form a 50/50 joint venture
company, Investors in the Community Group Limited.  The new company will expand
key parts of Mill Group's existing business and build on the ongoing
collaboration between the two organisations involving a joint bid for Leeds City
Council's £250m Building Schools for the Future ('BSF') project.



Land Securities Trillium has identified the BSF programme as a key strategic
opportunity and it is expected that the Government will invest up to £2bn per
year in BSF projects over the next decade.  Mill Group's Investors in the
Community ('IIC') programme is regarded as a leader in the BSF and community
Public Private Partnership ('PPP') markets.   In addition to the joint bid on
Leeds, the IIC programme is already shortlisted for three other BSF projects
with an anticipated value of circa £350 million.



Under the agreement, Mill Group will inject its procurement and scheme
management operations into the joint venture company, together with its existing
and potential pipeline of new PPP projects.  Land Securities Trillium will also
acquire a 20% share in Mill Group's current fund asset management business. This
administers the one private equity and two institutional funds that have
invested in the existing IIC schemes. Land Securities Trillium intends to use
the new company to deploy capital into this target market and will have the
right to co-invest alongside the active IIC fund.



The Board of Land Securities believes that there is substantial synergy between
the activities and expertise of both companies.  Land Securities Trillium's
financial resources and strong track record of property development and
management of large property portfolios on behalf of major public and private
sector customers are highly complementary to Mill Group's knowledge and
experience.  The combination will provide a compelling new offer to public
sector organisations seeking long-term investment in the improvement and
delivery of community services and regeneration initiatives.



Mill Group originally created its Investors in the Community programme to invest
in education and healthcare facilities that deliver real benefits to local
communities.  Since formation, it has built a strong track record of providing
award-winning, socially responsible education, healthcare and community
projects, with the completion of some 30 facilities.  It now manages a portfolio
comprising ten secondary and six primary schools with a value of about £140m and
eighteen local authority and community health sector facilities with a capital
value of in excess of £280m, mainly held through the two institutional funds
referred to above.



The consideration payable by Land Securities Trillium will total circa £20m,
depending on certain deferred payments relating to the joint venture company's
performance over a three year period.  Following the completion of the
transaction, Land Securities Trillium will be entitled to a 50% share of the
joint venture company's future revenue and profits.



Ian Ellis, Chief Executive of Land Securities Trillium, commented: 'This new
venture will not only accelerate our strategic move into the BSF marketplace but
also substantially increase the potential scope of projects that both
organisations can now target.  By combining Land Securities Trillum's financial
and operational strengths and Mill Group's existing expertise and market-leading
position, we are confident that we can develop a new and compelling offer to
meet the growing appetite for specialist PPP provision and capture a meaningful
share of the BSF market.'



David Toplas, Chief Executive of Mill Group and IIC, commented: 'We are
delighted to be expanding our Investors in the Community programme through this
partnership with Land Securities Trillium.  This will provide us with additional
support and expertise in areas such as property outsourcing and regeneration and
give us the ideal platform to grow our existing offer.  We are looking forward
to working together to offer a really strong proposition to local authorities
and others investing in education or community renewal.  Our shared skills and
enhanced financial capacity will also give us the scope to move into new,
evolving areas.'



For further information, please contact:


Land Securities                           Mill Group /Investors in the Community

Ian Ellis/Martin Greenslade/Emma Denne    David Toplas
Tel: [phone]                  Tel: [phone]


Financial Dynamics (for Land Securities)  Republic (for Mill Group / IIC)
Stephanie Highett / Dido Laurimore        Pippa Goodman
Tel: [phone]                  Tel: [phone] /
                                               [phone]





Notes to Editors



Land Securities Group PLC

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 over 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,
  • London offices and
  • Property outsourcing.



Its £11.5 billion combined investment portfolio includes office and retail space
in Central London, 28 shopping centres, 32 retail parks and 11 supermarket
properties located across the UK.



It has a substantial development programme including major retail-led urban
regeneration schemes and Central London mixed-use developments.  The Group is
also masterplanning one of Europe's largest regeneration schemes in Kent
Thameside.

The Group leads the market in property outsourcing where, through Land
Securities Trillium, it provides accommodation and property-related services to
the Department for Work and Pensions, the BBC, Norwich Union, Barclays Bank,
DVLA and through Telereal to BT.



The Group is committed to environmental initiatives and community involvement
recognised by the Group's inclusion in the BiTC Corporate Responsibility Index,
FTSE4Good Index and the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.



For more information on Land Securities visit www.landsecurities.com





Mill Group - Is a privately owned property and finance group established 13
years ago by its chief executive David Toplas. It has focused on the Public
Private Partnership ('PPP') programme since its inception, combining asset
procurement and long-term management services with funding from institutional
funds that it promotes and manages.




The Investors in the Community ('IIC') programme, founded by Mill Group three
years ago and managed by the company, delivers socially responsible PPP and PFI
projects that provide real benefits, through education and healthcare, to local
communities.



Investors in the Community provides:

  • Partnering and facilities delivery
  • Long-term investment from in-house institutional funds
  • Added value through independence and professionalism in construction
    procurement, service delivery, property development and urban regeneration
  • Community sponsoring.



Investors in the Community is committed to genuine, long-term partnership with
the public sector, funding projects and managing them for the duration of their
working life. Across the UK, the programme is providing inspiring learning
environments to 15,000 pupils; healthcare facilities to 2.5 million people;
library services to 1 million people; and office accommodation for hundreds of
council workers serving their communities.  Its high profile projects include
the new Jubilee Library in Brighton - winner, in 2005, of the Prime Minister's
Better Public Building Award and the Regeneration Awards' Best Design-led
Regeneration project, as well as being shortlisted for the Stirling Prize.



The Investors in the Community programme is backed by long-term investment funds
from public and private sector institutional investors including the London
Pensions Fund Authority, Norwich Union/Morley and Clerical Medical/Insight
Investment.



For more information on Investors in the Community and Mill Group visit
www.investorsinthecommunity.com.




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