Liberty International plc was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 property

Property

Property is any physical or intangible entity that is owned by a person or jointly by a group of people or a legal entity like a corporation...

 investment

Investment

Investment has different meanings in finance and economics. Finance investment is putting money into something with the expectation of gain, that upon thorough analysis, has a high degree of security for the principal amount, as well as security of return, within an expected period of time...

 company. It switched to Real Estate Investment Trust

Real estate investment trust

A real estate investment trust or REIT is a tax designation for a corporate entity investing in real estate. The purpose of this designation is to reduce or eliminate corporate tax. In return, REITs are required to distribute 90% of their taxable income into the hands of investors...

 status when REITs were introduced in the United Kingdom in January 2007. A former constituent of the FTSE 100 Index

FTSE 100 Index

The FTSE 100 Index, also called FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the footsie , is a share index of the 100 most highly capitalised UK companies listed on the London Stock Exchange....

, it changed its name to Capital Shopping Centres Group plc

Capital Shopping Centres

Capital Shopping Centres Group plc is a United Kingdom-based Real Estate Investment Trust , largely focused on shopping centre management and development. Formerly named Liberty International plc, it changed its name to that of its major subsidiary in May 2010 after demerging its Capital & Counties...

 after the May 2010 demerger of its Capital & Counties Properties

Capital & Counties Properties

Capital & Counties Properties plc is a United Kingdom-based property investment and development company which is focused on sites in the West and West End of London...

 unit.

History

The Company was established by Sir Donald Gordon in 1980 under the name of Transatlantic Insurance Holdings plc as an offshoot Liberty Life Association of Africa, a business he had founded in 1957. The Company developed into a leading investor in life assurance businesses in the 1980s only divested its remaining life assurance interests (a 29% holding in Sun Life

Sun Life & Provincial Holdings

Sun Life & Provincial Holdings plc was a large British insurance company. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.-History:...

) in 1991. In 1992 it merged with Capital & Counties, a leading shopping centre developer, so securing itself a listing on the London Stock Exchange

London Stock Exchange

The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...

. It changed its name to Liberty International in 1996.

Operations

The company operated through its two principal subsidiaries, both of which are now independent companies listed on the London Stock Exchange: Capital Shopping Centres and Capital & Counties:

The Capital Shopping Centres

Capital Shopping Centres

Capital Shopping Centres Group plc is a United Kingdom-based Real Estate Investment Trust , largely focused on shopping centre management and development. Formerly named Liberty International plc, it changed its name to that of its major subsidiary in May 2010 after demerging its Capital & Counties...

 subsidiary (now Capital Shopping Centres Group plc) owns Braehead

Braehead

Braehead is a commercial development located at the former site of Braehead Power Station in Renfrew on the south bank of the River Clyde in Renfrewshire. It is particularly notable for its large shopping centre, arena and leisure facilities....

 in Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

, Eldon Square in Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...

, The Harlequin

Harlequin Shopping Centre

The Harlequin Centre, in the centre of Watford, is the biggest shopping centre in Hertfordshire, in the United Kingdom, and is visited by over 17 million customers each year...

 in Watford

Watford

Watford is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, situated northwest of central London and within the bounds of the M25 motorway. The borough is separated from Greater London to the south by the urbanised parish of Watford Rural in the Three Rivers District.Watford was created as an urban...

, the MetroCentre in Gateshead

Gateshead

Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...

 and a number of other UK shopping centres.

The Capital & Counties

Capital & Counties Properties

Capital & Counties Properties plc is a United Kingdom-based property investment and development company which is focused on sites in the West and West End of London...

 subsidiary (now Capital & Counties Properties plc) owns much of Covent Garden

Covent Garden

Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...

 in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

: it invests in both residential and commercial real estate in the UK

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

.

An investment subsidiary based in California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, Capital and Counties USA, operated as part of Liberty's Capital & Counties unit, but ownership of this was passed to Capital Shopping Centres Group after the demerger.

As at 31 December 2009 the Company's property portfolio was valued at £6.2bn.