First Union Annual Meeting Recessed For One Week To Verify Shareholder Ballots.

CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 19, 1998--First Union Real Estate Investments (NYSE:FUR) announced that today's annual meeting of shareholders had been recessed for one week to provide sufficient time for the inspector of elections to verify all shareholder ballots.

The Trust said the annual meeting would be resumed at 2:00 P.M. Eastern Time on Tuesday, May 26, at Company headquarters, 55 Public Square, Cleveland.

First Union has been engaged in a proxy contest with Gotham Partners, L.P., a New York-based hedge fund trying to gain control of the real estate investment trust. At issue at the annual meeting are Gotham's proposals to increase the size of the Trust's Board from nine to 15 and to elect nine of their nominees.

The Trust said that preliminary indications are that Gotham has enough votes to carry each of the issues presented to the meeting.

First Union Real Estate Investments is a real estate investment trust (REIT) headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, and traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

CONTACT: First Union Real Estate Investments

Thomas T. Kmiecik, 216/781-4030

or

Edward Howard & Co.

Patrick Gallagher, 216/781-2400