PRAEDIUM GROUP HIRES SALOMON SMITH BARNEY VP ROBERT J. MURRAY

New York, N.Y., April 2003 - The Praedium Group (Praedium), a New York City-based national real estate investment firm, has tapped Robert J. Murray as Vice President to head acquisitions and investment management in the Central U.S. region.

Russ Appel, Praedium Group president, noted, "We are delighted to bring Bob on board to enhance our acquisitions team. He brings a broad base of real estate transaction expertise to the group."

Prior to joining Praedium, Mr. Murray spent nine years in the real estate investment banking group at Salomon Smith Barney (a division of Citigroup), most recently as a Vice President. During his tenure at Salomon Smith Barney, Mr. Murray conducted all aspects of real estate investment banking, including capital raising, portfolio transactions and strategic advisory for both public and private real estate companies. Additionally, he helped establish their European real estate effort. He holds a B.A. in English from the College of the Holy Cross.

The Praedium Group is a real estate investor focusing on underperforming and undervalued assets throughout North America, with more than $2 billion in total investments to date. Praedium was formed in 1991 with a leading international investment bank as its sole investor.

Building on the experience and exposure gained through this original investment program, Praedium has been a sponsor of commingled real estate private equity funds since 1994. The funds sponsored by Praedium have attracted investors that include public and corporate pension funds, financial institutions, insurance companies and endowments.

Praedium recently closed on a $465 million real estate private equity fund, Praedium Fund V. This equity will be leveraged to acquire $1.5 billion in properties over the next two years. The fund will invest in mid-cap assets throughout the United States and Canada in the $10 to $60 million range, targeting multi-family, office, retail and industrial property types. For more information please see www.praediumgroup.com.