PRESS

RELEASE

1 July 2010

School helped in memory of popular developer

A school for autistic children is spic and span in readiness for the next academic year thanks to the hard work of staff from Kings Hill developer Liberty Property Trust UK Ltd.

They were taking part in the ‘Bill Rouse Day of Caring’, when the 400 employees of Liberty Property Trust in the UK and America spend a day helping their communities in commemoration of the life of the company’s founder Bill Rouse, who died in 2003.

Twenty staff from the UK offices in Kings Hill, London and the Midlands, spent the day painting walls and polishing floors at The Quest School in Offham, which was founded in 2003 by a group of parents and therapists to meet the need for individualised education for children with autism.

Quest uses an intervention called Applied Behavioural Analysis and places great emphasis on equipping the pupils with functional skills and developing their full potential. Starting with three pupils in Offham Village Hall, Quest has grown dramatically and now operates from two sites and currently has 13 pupils. It is a not for profit organisation with charitable status.

The group were refurbishing the barn at the school, which will be used as a place where the older children can learn life skills to enable them to be as independent as possible in adulthood.

Peter Mepsted, one of the founding parents and trustee said: “As a small local charity it is fantastic to receive support from a major organisation like Liberty Property Trust UK Ltd.

“The concept of the Bill Rouse Day of Caring is perfect for a charity like ours – being able to carry out work that would otherwise use financial resources, which could be better focussed on our pupils. The whole team did a fantastic job and really enjoyed the day!

“We now have a redecorated building ready for the new school year in September, when we intend to extend and improve our ‘life skills’ and ‘vocational training’ provision. All of us at Quest School are extremely grateful to everyone at Liberty and extend our sincere thanks.”

Other companies from Kings Hill also contributed to the day’s activities, with building contractors Strata helping out with the intricate ‘cutting in’ of the paintwork and supplying bacon rolls and new arrivals on the park, Domino’s Pizza, providing lunch.

“Bill was such an inspiration to everyone he met and very community-minded so it is a privilege for us to be able to give something back to our community in honour of his memory”, said Andrew Blevins, managing director of Liberty Property Trust UK Ltd.

“The Quest School does such marvellous work and is a very worthwhile cause. It was hard work but we had great fun and we rounded off the day with a barbecue and a toast to Bill – who would have loved the day.”

The Bill Rouse Day of Caring takes place on the Friday nearest to Bill’s birthday, June 19. Projects Liberty staff have been involved in so far include Leybourne Grange Riding Centre for the Disabled; Spadeworks; Burham Youth Club; Maidstone Centre for the Homeless; Help the Aged Day Centre in West Malling and two Scout camp sites in Loose and Sittingbourne.

Kings Hill is an established mixed use development and home to a range of established corporates, a 90,000 sq ft David Lloyd fitness centre, an 18-hole PGA golf course, a supermarket and a range of other retail outlets, as well as a thriving residential community with around 6,000 residents.

For more information on Kings Hill visit www.kings-hill.com.

Ends

For further information, please contact:

Alison Hardy, Maxim on 01892 513033 / Alison@maxim-pr.co.uk

Notes to Editors:

Liberty Property Trust UK Ltd (formerly Rouse Kent Ltd) is a subsidiary of US-based Liberty Property Trust, a Real Estate Investment Trust, listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Liberty Property Trust (NYSE:LRY), headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania, is a leader in commercial real estate, serving customers in the United States and the United Kingdom, through the development, acquisition, ownership and management of superior office and industrial properties. Liberty Property Trust owns and manages more than 750 properties totalling 78 million sq ft, accommodating 2,100 occupiers and has a market capitalisation of $6.5 billion.

Liberty Property Trust UK and Kent County Council have formed a collaborative public/private sector “partnership” having entered into a Development Agreement to create an exemplar mixed-use community.  Kings Hill is the County’s flagship development for attracting inward investment and promoting regional economic growth and it also seeks to deliver in all areas of existing and evolving Government policy priorities.

Liberty Property Trust UK is developing Kings Hill as a rapidly growing new community combining commercial, residential, educational, retail, community, sports and leisure uses within 800 acres of highly landscaped low density park land.  The US inspired concept aims to promote quality of life and provide a unique environment in which people can live, work, play and study.  In addition to providing accommodation for SME’s, Kings Hill also attracts significant international tenants such as Barclays, Jupiter, Rail Europe, Cabot Financial, Man Group, Genzyme Diagnostics and Kimberly-Clark.

Liberty Property Trust UK Ltd is also developing iCO Didsbury Point business park in Manchester – www.ico-office.com,  the  Cambridge Biomedical Campus adjacent Addenbrooke’s Hospital – www.cambridgebiomedicalcampus.com and Blythe Valley Park in the West Midlands – www.blythevalleypark.com.