Bentley Forbes Group Acquires, Then Leases Back Worldwide Headquarters of GSE Systems in Maryland.

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 21, 1999--

The Bentley Forbes Group LLC Tuesday announced that it has purchased the worldwide headquarters building of GSE Systems Inc., a technology company in Columbia, Md., for $5.375 million.

As part of the sale-leaseback transaction, GSE Systems signed a nine-year, triple net lease on the single-story office/R&D building, which occupies 52,682 square feet on a 4.77-acre parcel of land.

GSE Systems develops and delivers business and technology solutions by applying process control, data acquisition and simulation software, systems and services to the energy, process and manufacturing industries worldwide. The company operates from 14 locations around the globe.

The Provident Bank in Atlanta financed the transaction.

C. Frederick Wehba II, president of Los Angeles-based Bentley Forbes, said that sale-leaseback transactions enable sellers -- like GSE Systems -- to get out of the real estate business and apply the assets to a more productive use, such as expansion of their core business or cleaning up of their balance sheets.

Bentley Forbes' portfolio now stands at more than $600 million, said Wehba. The privately held, family-operated real estate investment firm has quadrupled the size of its portfolio during the past year.

Based in Los Angeles, The Bentley Forbes Group is a national, full-service commercial real estate investment firm that specializes in the acquisition and ownership of single-tenant, income-producing properties ranging from office buildings and shopping centers to light industrial facilities and warehouses.