| Capital Automotive REIT Reports Fourth Quarter and Year End Results Announces Completion of $54 Million in Acquisitions in January 1999 
 MCLEAN, Va., Feb. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Capital Automotive REIT (Nasdaq: CARS)
 today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended
 December 31, 1998.
 
 For the fourth quarter, the Company reported funds from operations (FFO)
 of $9.2 million, or $0.33 per basic and diluted share, on total revenues of
 $12.7 million. Net income in the fourth quarter was $4.8 million, or $0.22 per
 basic and diluted share.  FFO results are based on basic and diluted weighted
 average number of common shares and units of 28.3 million.
 
 For the year ended December 31, 1998, funds from operations were
 $27.0 million, or $1.04 per basic share or $1.03 per diluted share, on total
 revenues of $34.9 million.  Net income for the period was $16.5 million, or
 $0.79 per basic and diluted share.  FFO results for the full year period are
 based on basic weighted average number of shares and units of 26.0 million and
 diluted weighted average number of shares and units of 26.2 million.
 
 As of December 31, 1998, the Company owned $511 million of franchised
 automotive properties which included 120 dealership properties used by
 29 dealer groups located in 18 states operated by 196 automotive franchises,
 totaling 4.3 million square feet of building on 709 acres of land.  The
 Company's weighted average initial cap rate was 10.6%.
 
 For the fourth quarter, the Company closed on $96 million in acquisitions,
 which included 25 dealership properties in five states, representing
 58 franchises. The properties included a total of 919,000 square feet of
 dealership buildings on 188 acres of property.  These acquisitions included:
 
 -- Six properties from Group 1 Automotive, Inc. located in Houston and
 
 
 Austin, TX and Denver, CO.  The acquisitions include 10 automotive
 
 
 franchises: Honda, Acura, Chevrolet, Jeep/Eagle, Chrysler, Plymouth,
 
 
 Dodge, Dodge Truck, and Isuzu. Group 1 is a leading operator and
 
 
 consolidator in the automotive retailing industry with 57 dealership
 
 
 franchises in six states.
 
 -- Three properties from Motorcars Group located in Cleveland, Ohio.
 
 Motorcars operates six franchises on the properties representing six
 
 
 brands including Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Volvo, Infiniti, Pontiac and
 
 
 Oldsmobile. According to Automotive News, the Motorcars Group was the
 
 
 country's 71st largest dealer group in the United States with 1997
 
 
 revenues in excess of $275 million. The group currently operates a
 
 
 total of 15 franchises in 11 locations.
 
 -- Two additional properties from Momentum Motorcars based in Houston, TX
 
 
 one of which is a BMW franchise. Momentum Motorcars was the largest
 
 
 retail BMW dealer in the United States during 1997.
 
 -- Four properties from Gurley-Leep Automotive Group located in South
 
 
 Bend, Indiana. The Gurley-Leep Automotive Group operates 14 franchises
 
 
 on the properties representing six automotive brands, including
 
 
 Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Honda, Chrysler, Buick and GMC Truck. The
 
 
 Gurley-Leep Automotive Group currently operates 15 franchised
 
 
 dealerships in Indiana.  The dealerships are recipients of Chrysler's
 
 
 "Five Star Award", Buick's "Best in Class Award" and GMC's "Award for
 
 
 Dealership Operations".
 
 -- Five properties from Jackson Automotive Group located in Greenville and
 
 
 Sulphur Springs, Texas. Jackson Automotive Group operates 15 franchises
 
 
 representing 11 automotive brands including Ford, Jeep/Eagle and
 
 
 Chrysler.
 
 -- Three properties from Fenton Motor Group located in McAlester and Ada,
 
 
 Oklahoma. The Fenton Motor Group operates nine franchises on the
 
 
 properties, representing six brands including Ford, Lincoln-Mercury,
 
 
 Pontiac, Buick, GMC and Nissan.
 
 -- Two properties from Moritz Interests, Ltd. located in Oklahoma City and
 
 
 Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Oklahoma City property is leased to Dealer's Auto
 
 
 Auction, which was founded at the location in 1987. Dealer's Auto
 
 
 Auction is one of the five largest independent wholesale automotive
 
 
 auctions in the United States. The Tulsa property is leased to Crown
 
 
 Auto World, which was founded at the location in the late 1970's and
 
 
 currently holds three franchises, including BMW, Jeep/Eagle and Buick.
 
 Crown Auto World is a recipient of Chrysler's "Five Star Award".
 
 The Company has closed approximately $54 million of acquisitions in
 January 1999.  Consideration for the acquisitions was substantially all cash
 funded from the proceeds of the Deutsche Bank $150 million permanent loan.
 The acquisitions include 11 dealership properties in three states,
 representing seven franchises.  These acquisitions included:
 
 -- Six additional properties from Group 1 Automotive, Inc. and its
 
 
 affiliates located in Houston and Round Rock, Texas. Group 1 operates
 
 
 three franchises on the properties, including Toyota, Lexus and Nissan.
 
 -- One additional property from Park Place Motor Cars located in Dallas,
 
 
 Texas. Park Place Motor Cars operates three franchises on the property,
 
 
 including Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Audi.  Park Place's Mercedes-Benz
 
 
 franchise is among the top 10 Mercedes-Benz franchises in the country.
 
 Park Place is one of the largest Lexus dealers in the state of Texas
 
 
 and is a four-time winner of the "Elite of Lexus Award".  Mr. Kenneth
 
 
 L. Schnitzer, Park Place's current President and CEO, was also named a
 
 
 premier Porsche dealer for two consecutive years.  Mr. Schnitzer, is a
 
 
 past chairman of the Mercedes- Benz Dealer Council and is a 1998
 
 
 recipient of the American International Automobile Dealers
 
 
 Association's "All Star Dealer Award."
 
 -- One additional property from FirstAmerica Automotive, Inc. located in
 
 
 San Rafael, California.  The property is currently being developed by
 
 
 FirstAmerica and, when completed, FirstAmerica will operate a Dodge
 
 
 franchise on the property.  FirstAmerica operates 15 franchises
 
 
 throughout California.
 
 -- Three properties from McCluskey Chevrolet, a Cincinnati, Ohio based
 
 
 group.   McCluskey Chevrolet, founded by CEO Dan McCluskey in 1973, has
 
 
 received several prestigious awards and honors including being named as
 
 
 a national finalist in the Small Business category for the "1997
 
 
 National Quality Cup Competition", GMC's "Five Star Performer Award"
 
 and "Showcase Dealer for Service Supremacy."
 
 Thomas D. Eckert, president and chief executive officer, stated, "The
 company has completed $565 million in acquisitions since its initial public
 offering in February 1998. This exceptional acquisition activity validates the
 Capital Automotive strategy and timeliness in the rapidly consolidating
 automotive industry.  Our tenants include 12 of the Top 100 dealer groups in
 the nation -- underscoring our strategy of partnering with the top
 consolidators. As we enter 1999, we will continue to be mindful of capital
 market and industry trends and manage our business as such to provide enhanced
 returns with minimal risk."
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