W. P. Carey Financing Construction of New Oxford Automotive Manufacturing Facility; Build-To-Suit Represents Latest Sale-leaseback Financing Transaction in Alabama

    NEW YORK--June 4, 2003--Investment firm W. P. Carey & Co. LLC today announced that it has provided Troy, MI-based Oxford Automotive, Inc., a leading full-service automotive supplier of specialized metal-formed assemblies and related services, with approximately $15 million in build-to-suit financing.
    Construction of the new, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in McCalla, AL is underway. The facility will be used primarily for the manufacture of components for Mercedes-Benz, which operates a facility in nearby Tuscaloosa, AL.
    The 50-acre site, in the Jefferson Metro Industrial Park, is ideally located close to the company's automotive Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) customers and the newly developing Southern automotive corridor. The 397,000 square foot integrated stamping, welding and assembly facility, when fully operational, will employ approximately 300 people and manufacture finished assemblies and underbody stampings for Oxford's OEM customers in the region. It will be leased under a 20-year triple net lease.
    The facility was purchased on behalf of Corporate Property Associates 15 Incorporated (CPA(R):15) a member of the $5 billion W. P. Carey Group of income generating, publicly held non-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs).
    "As a leading supplier to the automotive industry with a strong management team, Oxford Automotive is the type of company with which we look to enter into long-term partnerships," said Anne R. Coolidge, Managing Director at W. P. Carey. "This transaction will enable them to build a brand new facility to better serve their clients and will help them to run their company more efficiently."
    John Potter, Oxford Automotive President and CEO said, "The construction of this new facility and the new business associated with it, is an outgrowth of the restructuring, rationalization and reorganization that Oxford Automotive has undertaken in the past 18 months. As a result of this process, Oxford has been able to reduce debt and position its balance sheet as one of the strongest in the industry."
    This latest acquisition adds to W. P. Carey's growing managed portfolio of properties in Alabama, which consist of more than 375,000 square feet. The properties, owned by W. P. Carey & Co. LLC and its affiliates, include warehouses, distribution centers, and retail centers leased to Sports Wholesale, Inc., AutoZone, Inc. and Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc.

    This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Federal securities laws. A number of factors could cause the company's actual results, performance or achievement to differ materially from those anticipated. Among those risks, trends and uncertainties are the general economic climate; the supply of and demand for office and industrial properties; interest rate levels; the availability of financing; and other risks associated with the acquisition and ownership of properties, including risks that the tenants will not pay rent, or that costs may be greater than anticipated. For further information on factors that could impact the company, reference is made to the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.