PRESS RELEASE

20 April 2007

VISIONARY STUDENT ACCOMODATION, NIDO, REACHES TOPPING OUT MILESTONE

Work at Nido, the 95 million visionary two-tower independent student resident hall on London's Pentonville Road, reached a construction milestone today.

First Base, the residential-led urban regeneration developer, joined construction partner Bovis Lend Lease UK (BLL UK), real estate company The Blackstone Group and their Joint Venture partner Generation Estates in marking the "topping out" on site in Islington.

Nido is located on the former Nat West office site. The construction process has stripped back the two towers to their original frames to reinvent the building. The stunning 16 floor mixed use scheme designed by award winning architects Allford Hall Monaghan Morris incorporates 616 single studio rooms, 199 shared rooms for 2 students, 31 rooms allocated to students with disabilities accommodating 1,045 students overall. The scheme will have a further 50 private apartments, 14 affordable apartments, three retail units and commercial space.

The development, managed by First Base for The Blackstone Group and Generation Estates, will set a new standard in student accommodation, offering personal studio living space with free high speed internet connection, interior designed rooms, amazing views across the city and a safe and secure community living environment in the centre of London.

Elliot Lipton, Managing Director of First Base, said, "First Base is committed to building high quality, well designed, safe and secure communities where people want to live."

"Reaching today's major milestone for Nido on schedule and on budget is testament to the great team work between those involved. As well as using Modern Methods of Construction, this project has also benefited from fantastic architectural design and sustainable credentials, all of which will set this development apart and bring new life to a former derelict site."

Murray Coleman, CEO at Bovis Lend Lease UK, said, "Working with First Base and The Blackstone Group and Generation Estates has proven to be a very successful partnership that has allowed us to deliver something really special for a challenging site. We are looking forward to continuing to bring our global experience to future projects which will bring new innovations to construction in the UK and raise the game for all of the industry."

Alan Artus from Generation Estates, Joint Venture partner of The Blackstone Group, said, "The choice of accommodation for students across London is often not of a high standard, and so it was important to provide a safe and secure residence that students can use for study and play. Nido is shaping up to offer all of this in a modern environment with enviable views across the city. Now that the topping out has taken place we are one step closer to opening a development that takes student living to the next level."

For more information and images contact:

For First Base:

Jess Gooch on 020 7908 6447 / jgooch@lexispr.com

For Bovis Lend Lease UK:

Belinda Luton on 0208 271 8115 / belinda.luton@eu.bovislendlease.com

For The Blackstone Group:

Anna Coverdale on 0207 287 9770 / anna@coverdaledavis.com

Notes to editors

First Base is the residential-led urban regeneration developer that creates stylish homes in great urban spaces.

• It transforms the way that properties are built - using best practice modern construction methods that keep costs low yet quality high, embrace sustainability and ensures value for money.
• It transforms the way that communities are formed - with a mix of tenures, a range of homes, a commitment to high quality management and services that make friends of neighbours.
• And it transforms the way that style meets function - with attractive designs, inside and out, that do more than simply look good.

Designed by renowned architects, built by skilled craftspeople, managed by experts, First Base homes are quality, sustainable properties for purchase or rental.

First Base was included in the 2006 RIBA ---Top 50 Clients--- survey for its innovative approach to quality design, using renowned architects including AHMM, Richard Rogers Partnerships, Glenn Howells and Fletcher Priest for a range of projects across the capital.

First Base is also a founding member of the UK Green Building Council. The non-for-profit organisation is being launched in the spring of 2007 and aims to reduce the environmental impact of buildings by improving the way they are designed, built and maintained.

For further information please visit www.firstbase.com

BOVIS LEND LEASE UK

Bovis Lend Lease is one of the UK's leading construction and project management companies and has a strong track record of delivering landmark projects.

The company offers a growing range of sector skills from the mainstream commercial and retail markets to leisure, pharmaceuticals,airports and public private partnerships. Bovis Lend Lease UK has recently been involved in a number of flagship projects including Unilever House, the London Stock Exchange and the Ministry of Defence's Single Living Accommodation Modernisation programme (SLAM). More information on BLL's projects and programmes can be found at http://www.bovislendlease.com/

Bovis Lend Lease has a established number of joint venture partnerships to plan, project manage and deliver regeneration schemes around the world and we are committed to being a sustainable organisation, both in what we do and what we build.

THE BLACKSTONE GROUP

REAL ESTATE

The Blackstone Group, a global private investment and advisory firm, was founded in 1985. The firm has raised a total of more then$63 billion for alternative asset investing of which approximately $12.7 billion has been for real estate investing. The firm has a long track record of investing in office buildings, hotels and other commercial properties.

The Real Estate Group has approximately 40 experienced professionals who have a deep understanding of real estate across all product classes and geographic areas. In addition to Real Estate, The Blackstone Group's core businesses include Private Equity Investing, Corporate Debt Investing, Hedge Funds, Mutual Fund Management, Private Placement, Marketable Alternative Asset Management, and Investment Banking Advisory Services. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com

GENERATION ESTATES

Generation Estates is a mixed use developer with a unique position in the London Student Residential Market. Responsible for the creation and delivery of in excess of 2000 new student bed spaces in Central London since 2003, Generation is the only student residential developer that operates on a fully mixed use platform.

Working in joint venture with Blackstone, Generation has redefined the offer to domestic and international students who wish to live in well located buildings providing a range of first class facilities in Central London.

ALLFORD HALL MONAGHAN MORRIS

Allford Hall Monaghan Morris was invented in 1989 to make architecture that is beautiful to look at and satisfying to use; architecture that is defined by a process of imagining, describing, making, using and enjoying.

Allford Hall Monaghan Morris design very different buildings, for very different people to use in very different ways. We have grown from four to one hundred and sixteen people while our budgets have grown from a few thousand to tens of millions of pounds. Although each project has the individual specificity that comes from particular needs and particular places and time, it is equally important that there is an underlying consistency which comes from the thorough exploration of continuously developing ideas. Architecture is not static but constantly evolving.