Highwoods Properties Closes on $162M of Secured Loans with 7.1% Weighted Average Rate

RALEIGH, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE: HIW), the largest owner and operator of suburban office properties in the Southeast, and NAIOP's 2009 Developer of the Year, today announced that it has closed on two secured loans totaling $162 million.

They include a $115.0 million, 6.5-year secured loan provided by New York Life Insurance Company at a fixed rate of 6.875%, secured by a pool of 10 assets in Nashville, Raleigh and Tampa, and a $47.3 million, 7-year secured loan provided by Western-Southern Life Assurance Company at a fixed rate of 7.5%, secured by the office portion of RBC Plaza in Raleigh. (top left photo)

The Company used a portion of the proceeds to pay off in full the $91 million outstanding under its $450 million unsecured credit facility.

Ed Fritsch, (middle right photo) president and chief executive officer, commented, "The closing of these two secured loans further strengthens our already healthy balance sheet and enhances our liquidity, giving us an even stronger competitive leasing advantage and further boosting our ability to pursue acquisition and development opportunities."

Fritsch added, "Including these two loans, we have raised $615 million in capital since September 2008, consisting of $339 million of common offering proceeds, $193 million of secured and unsecured financings and $83 million from asset dispositions. During this same time frame we have also repurchased $54 million of our preferred stock and paid off $160 million of secured and unsecured loans."

Highwoods Properties, Inc., a member of the S&P MidCap 400 Index, is a fully integrated, self-administered real estate investment trust ("REIT") that provides leasing, management, development, construction and other customer-related services for its properties and for third parties.

At June 30, 2009, the Company owned or had an interest in 378 in-service office, industrial and retail properties encompassing approximately 35.2 million square feet. Highwoods also owned 580 acres of development land.

Highwoods is based in Raleigh, North Carolina, and its properties and development land are located in Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

Contact: Tabitha Zane, Vice President, Investor Relations, 919-431-1529