PREIT Completes Sale of South Mall and Executes Agreements of Sale for Nittany and North Hanover Malls

PHILADELPHIA, June 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT/NYSE: PEI) announced today the successful completion of the previously announced sale of South Mall in Allentown, PA for $23.6 million. The completion of the sale represents a key milestone in the Company's commitment to shaping a higher-quality portfolio. In addition to the South Mall sale, PREIT also announced today that the Company has entered into an Agreement of Sale to dispose of its two remaining non-core malls – Nittany Mall and North Hanover Mall.

PREIT commenced its disposition program in 2012 as part of its portfolio reconstituting initiative. The Company has strategically added properties to the list in a limited manner and found success in selling four non-core malls to date that generated average sales psf of $227 at the time of the respective closings for approximately $79.0 million.  In total, PREIT's disposition program has generated over $250.0 million since inception in 2012. Proceeds from the South Mall transaction, net of closing costs, settlement pro-rations and credits, were approximately $23.1 million. 

South Mall is a 406,000 square foot mall located in Allentown, PA, anchored by SteinMart and Bon Ton.   Sales at South Mall were $227 per square foot and non-anchor occupancy was 90.6% as of March 31, 2014. Nittany Mall is a 534,000 square foot mall located in State College, PA, anchored by jcpenney, Sears, Bon Ton and Macy's. Sales at Nittany Mall were $230 per square foot and non-anchor occupancy was 75.8% as of March 31, 2014. North Hanover Mall is a 452,000 square foot mall located in Hanover, PA, anchored by jcpenney, Sears, Dick's Sporting Goods and a new Burlington Coat Factory. Sales at North Hanover were $275 per square foot and non-anchor occupancy was 79.3% as of March 31, 2014.

Sales and occupancy at these properties generally lag PREIT's portfolio that averaged sales of $377 per square foot and had non-anchor occupancy of 90.3% as of March 31, 2014, making the properties ideal candidates for the Company's disposition program. 

"The successful completion of the sale of South Mall, coupled with our agreement to sell Nittany and North Hanover Malls, is a significant step for PREIT,"  said Joseph F. Coradino, CEO of PREIT. "We have made meaningful strides in reconstituting and elevating PREIT's portfolio quality, particularly at a time when the market is inundated with lower quality assets for sale. With the near completion of our disposition program, we are keenly focused on successfully operating our higher-quality properties, which have the most potential for long-term value creation and strong operating results. I am confident that our shareholders will be pleased with the value proposition in PREIT's higher-quality portfolio." 

About PREIT
Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, founded in 1960 and one of the first equity REITs in the U.S., has a primary investment focus on retail shopping malls. Currently, the Company's portfolio of 42 properties comprises 34 shopping malls, five community and power centers, and three development properties. The Company's properties are located in 12 states in the eastern half of the United States, primarily in the Mid-Atlantic region. The operating retail properties have approximately 30.1 million total square feet of space. PREIT, headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is publicly traded on the NYSE under the symbol PEI. Information about the Company can be found at www.preit.com or on Twitter or LinkedIn.

Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements relate to expectations, beliefs, projections, future plans, strategies, anticipated events, trends and other matters that are not historical facts. These forward-looking statements reflect our current views about future events, achievements or results and are subject to risks, uncertainties and changes in circumstances that might cause future events, achievements or results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. In particular, our business might be materially and adversely affected by uncertainties affecting real estate businesses generally as well as the following, among other factors: our substantial debt, stated value of preferred shares and our high leverage ratio; constraining leverage, interest and tangible net worth covenants under our 2013 Revolving Facility, our 2014 Term Loans and Letter of Credit; potential losses on impairment of certain long-lived assets, such as real estate, or of intangible assets, such as goodwill, including such losses that we might be required to record in connection with any dispositions of assets; changes to our corporate management team and any resulting modifications to our business strategies; our ability to refinance our existing indebtedness when it matures, on favorable terms or at all; our ability to raise capital, including through the issuance of equity or equity-related securities if market conditions are favorable, through joint ventures or other partnerships, through sales of properties or interests in properties, or through other actions; our ability to identify and execute on suitable acquisition opportunities and to integrate acquired properties into our portfolio; our short- and long-term liquidity position; current economic conditions and their effect on employment, consumer confidence and spending and the corresponding effects on tenant business performance, prospects, solvency and leasing decisions and on our cash flows, and the value and potential impairment of our properties;  general economic, financial and political conditions, including credit market conditions, changes in interest rates or unemployment; changes in the retail industry, including consolidation and store closings, particularly among anchor tenants; the effects of online shopping and other uses of technology on our retail tenants;  our ability to sell properties that we seek to dispose of or our ability to obtain estimated sale prices; our ability to maintain and increase property occupancy, sales and rental rates, in light of the relatively high number of leases that have expired or are expiring in the next two years; acts of violence at malls, including our properties, or at other similar spaces, and the potential effect on traffic and sales;  increases in operating costs that cannot be passed on to tenants; risks relating to development and redevelopment activities; concentration of our properties in the Mid-Atlantic region; changes in local market conditions, such as the supply of or demand for retail space, or other competitive factors; and potential dilution from any capital raising transactions.  Additional factors that might cause future events, achievements or results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements include those discussed in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and in any subsequent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q in the section entitled "Item 1A. Risk Factors." We do not intend to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, future events or otherwise.

Contacts:
Robert McCadden
EVP & CFO
(215) 875-0735

Heather Crowell
VP, Corporate Communications and Investor Relations
(215) 454-1241

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SOURCE PREIT

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