The award-winning Canalside Car Park at Brindleyplace is due to receive a 21^st Century upgrade, providing a boost to services and facilities.

Estate owners Hines Global REIT (Hines) and Moorfield Group (Moorfield) have  negotiated a deal that will award the management contract for the 14-year-old, 903-bay multi-storey car park to leading European car park specialist Q-Park, paving the way for a host of upgrades that will bring it in line with the very best UK and European counterparts.

The improvements include new parking equipment, installation of additional lighting and signage and there will be enhancements to the building’s current security offering as well as extensive additions to existing visitor services.

Parking tariffs, together with  the existing 24-hour customer service facility, will remain in place.  All current employees will have their roles transferred to Q-Park, ensuring that their jobs remain secure.

Igor Mathias and Jeremy Marchant, Hines and Moorfield, said: “Our decision to bring in Q-Park to manage the car park is part of our wider commitment to maintain and enhance the ongoing evolution of Brindleyplace.  The Canalside Car Park aligns with Q-Park’s existing portfolio, and we believe that this deal represents a natural fit.

“For many visitors to Brindleyplace, the Canalside Car Park provides their first impression, so it is essential that it projects the right sense of arrival.  While the existing facility has served the estate well since its development, we felt that this was the right time to bring about some improvements that will ensure that it remains in line with the contemporary, urban feel presented by Brindleyplace as a whole both now and well into the future.

“With their outstanding international reputation and attention to excellence in customer service, we believe absolutely that Q-Park will provide the perfect synergy with Brindleyplace, and we will ensure that our customers and tenants continue to receive a first-class experience from the second they arrive.”

Q-Park is one of the top three leading providers of parking facilities in Europe, whether wholly owned, leased, managed or in a hybrid business model. Q-Park stands for quality in parking and is renowned for its quality approach, which has been pivotal in modernising many existing locations.

Adam Bidder, Managing Director for Q-Park, said:   “Often car parks are the front door to our towns, cities and shopping centres, providing both the first and last impressions.  It is therefore essential that these spaces meet the aspirations of the locations in which they are sited. We pride ourselves on our award-winning quality and customer service and we’re delighted to enhance the parking offer to Brindleyplace visitors.

“We are looking forward to working with Hines and Moorfield in the development of the Canalside Car Park – our first city centre car park in Birmingham – and making a positive contribution to the overall perception of Brindleyplace as Birmingham’s leading leisure and business destination.”

Existing services, such as the electric car charging points and waste recycling stations, will be augmented through the addition of a number of new facilities, including baby buggy and umbrella loan, and a jump starter for unexpected battery failures. The car park will carry a heart defibrillator in case of any emergencies.

For more information on Brindleyplace, please visit http://www.brindleyplace.com/.

For more information on Q-Park please visit http://www.q-park.co.uk.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Brindleyplace
The award-winning Brindleyplace estate is a 1.6 million sq ft mixed use scheme that has set the standard for urban regeneration in the UK. The unique estate is defined by the quality of the environment with tree-lined streets and public squares located on the revitalised canalside of Birmingham’s Westside.

Over 8,500 people work at Brindleyplace for some of the UK’s leading businesses. In the challenge to attract and retain the best people, Brindleyplace occupiers have an unrivalled advantage to offer their employees including a diverse mix of amenities that is the focus of city life in Birmingham.

As well as being home to over a hundred businesses, Brindleyplace is known for its tantalising choice of 30 bars, cafés and restaurants.  Visitors can savour a truly international flavour at the popular waterfront scheme, with something for everyone. Other attractions include contemporary art galleries, the Crescent Theatre and The National SEA LIFE Centre.

Hines Global REIT
Hines Global REIT, Inc. is a Houston-based, public, non-listed real estate investment trust sponsored by Hines.  Hines Global REIT commenced its $3.5 billion initial public offering in August 2009 and has raised over $900 million, which it invests in commercial real estate properties located in the United States and internationally.  For additional information about Hines Global REIT, visit www.HinesREI.com.

Hines is a fully integrated real estate investment and management firm that has been investing in real estate and providing acquisition, development, financing, property management, leasing and disposition services for more than 50 years.  With offices in 108 cities in 18 countries, and controlled assets valued at approximately $23.7 (as of 12/31/10) billion, Hines is one of the largest real estate organizations in the world.  Access www.hines.com for more information on Hines.

Moorfield Group
Moorfield Group (Moorfield) is a UK real estate and related private equity fund manager and investor with some £2.5 billion of assets and geared cash under management through the Moorfield Real Estate Funds (MREFs).

Moorfield directly acquires single or multiple assets, or indirectly invests through corporate vehicles, including joint ventures. Moorfield supports entrepreneurial management teams that want to grow their real estate businesses or that want to take specific advantage of market circumstances.  Moorfield also provides mezzanine and structured finance solutions where appropriate as well as acquiring debt whether related to single asset, multiple asset or corporate structures.  For further information, visit:  www.moorfield.com.

This material contains forward-looking statements (such as those concerning acquisition activity, investment objectives, strategies, opportunities, other plans and objectives for future operations or economic performance, or related assumptions or forecasts) that are based on Hines Global REIT’s current expectations, plans, estimates, assumptions and beliefs that involve numerous risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation those risks set forth in the “Risk Factors” section of Hines Global REIT’s prospectus and Hines Global REIT’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 (available at www.HinesREI.com).

Any of these statements could be inaccurate, and actual events or our investments and results of operations could differ materially from those expressed or implied. To the extent that Hines Global REIT’s assumptions differ from actual results, Hines Global REIT’s ability to meet such forward-looking statements, including its ability to invest in a diversified portfolio of quality real estate investments and to generate attractive returns for investors, may be significantly hindered. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements.

Q-Park
Q-Park is one of the three leading providers of parking facilities in Europe, whether wholly-owned, leased, managed or in a hybrid business model.  Q-Park is notable for its quality approach and has a portfolio comprising over 800 000 parking spaces and office accommodation in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Great Britain, France, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland.

Q-Park arrived in the UK in 2001 and is now one of the UK’s leading car park companies with 52 car parking facilities housing some 50,000 parking spaces in key locations in the UK with over 7 million visitors every year. (Including Glasgow, Aberdeen, Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield, York, Westminster, Reading, Birmingham and Croydon.)

Q-Park partner with many different organisations including SOLT (Society of London Theatres) where theatre goers are given a 50% discount when they visit a West End Theatre.

Commitment to quality has earned Q-Park Ltd a wealth of industry awards including ‘Best New Car Park in Europe’, Excellence in Customer Service and Best Car Park Refurbishment. In 2011 Q-Park were declared the ‘Best of the Best’ by the British Parking Association.

Q-Park has won a RoSPA Health & Safety Award and also holds 59 ParkMark Safer Parking Scheme accreditations and 15 European Standard Parking Awards (ESPA).

Q-Park offer customers many complimentary services when they visit which include baby buggy and umbrella loans as well as jump starters and heart defibrillators in case of emergencies.

See http://www.q-park.co.uk/Media/PhotoGallery/tabid/465/Default.aspx for the Q-Park photo gallery.