BEP Bourne End Prop

RNS Number:1693M
Bourne End Properties PLC
13 June 2000


            BOURNE END PROPERTIES PLC AGM RIDER
             RETURN OF CAPITAL TO SHAREHOLDERS
          AND FIRST INTERIM DIVIDEND DECLARATION

At  the Annual General Meeting on Bourne End Properties Plc
held today, the Chairman made the following statement:

"Since  last  formally  communicating  with  the  company's
shareholders, through the Annual Report and Accounts,  your
Board  has considered at length the optimal way to  deliver
value to the shareholders.  We have concluded that the best
outcome   will  be  achieved  by  undertaking  an   orderly
realisation of your company's property portfolio  in  order
to allow a distribution of capital to shareholders.

Your board has no doubt that its primary responsibility  is
to  maximise shareholder value and in recent years much has
been  done by the present management to manage and  improve
the  portfolio  so  as to increase the potential  for  both
income  and  capital  growth.   We  believe  we  have  made
substantial progress in this regard.

However, clearly, this potential is not recognised  by  the
company's stock market rating with the share price  at  the
close  of business yesterday standing at 57.5p per share  a
33%  discount to the net asset value of 85.8p per share  as
published at 31 December 1999.

                      
Contact:
David Roberts, Chief Executive, Bourne End.  Tel: 020 7927
8000
Baron Phillips, Bankside Consultants.        Tel: 020  7220
7477

We  recognise  that many, if not most, property  investment
companies  today  stand at a significant  discount  to  net
asset  value  and  we  must accept that  we  are  seeing  a
continuing  fundamental  change  in  investors'   attitudes
towards   such   companies.  In  particular   multi-faceted
institutional   investors   increasingly   appear   to   be
questioning  the relevance of holding property through  the
medium  of a listed property company.  They appear to  have
no  appetite  to  acquire property  managed  in  this  way,
however  cheaply and however well managed. Small  companies
such   as  Bourne  End  Properties  with  relatively   poor
liquidity   in  their  shares  seem  to  be   regarded   as
particularly unappealing.

Therefore,  we have concluded that now these  dynamics  are
abroad  in  the market they are unlikely to disappear  with
any  speed  and  that consequently present  discounts  will
persist. This is unattractive to our shareholders.  We have
reviewed  all relevant options to address these issues  and
we  have  concluded  that it is in  the  interests  of  the
shareholders at large for the assets in the company  to  be
realised  optimally  and for the resulting  capital  to  be
returned to the shareholders.

We  propose to do this in an orderly way so as to allow the
management  the opportunity to extract maximum  value  from
the  portfolio of nine shopping centres, particularly those
acquired more recently, such as Fleet Walk, Torquay,  where
we believe our management expertise is yielding potentially
good incremental returns.

Given  a  persistence of current market circumstances  your
Board anticipates an ultimate distribution in the region of
73p  per  share  which  we intend to  return  in  the  most
effective way for the whole body of shareholders.

As  we explained when publishing the company's results  for
the  year  to 31 December 1999 the company had no  mark-to-
market liabilities under FRS 13.  Based upon current market
interest  rates your directors estimate that liability,  at
close  of  business  yesterday, to be less  than  1.0p  per
share.  On  the basis that all properties in the  portfolio
were  sold  at  the  value carried at 31 December  1999  we
estimate  that  the deferred tax liability  would  be  #3.5
million.   However,  we  believe this  liability  would  be
reduced  to  #0.8 million (1.3p per share)  if  the  Inland
Revenue  agrees that realised capital losses of up to  #9.0
million can be offset against realised gains.

We  shall  take  great care to keep our shareholders  fully
informed  of  material  milestones  in  moving  to  a  full
realisation  of  the  proposal we have  out-lined,  and  we
shall, of course, as necessary, seek your approval at every
stage which requires your consent.

Interim Dividend

Your  board has declared a first interim dividend  for  the
year to 31 December 2000, of 0.65p per share, made from the
distributable profits arising in the first three months  of
that  year.  This dividend is consistent with  the  board's
declared intention to pay a first interim dividend in  2000
(providing trading circumstances justified such action)  in
lieu  of the final dividend which was passed at the end  of
1999.  In the event we are comfortably able to deliver  our
undertaking. You will recall that the board was  unable  to
declare a final dividend because the Scheme of Arrangement,
despite   significantly  improving  the  company's  overall
position   at   the  end  of  last  year,  eliminated   our
distributable reserves.

This  dividend will be paid on 7 July 2000 to  shareholders
on the register at the close of business on 23 June 2000."

END

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