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Workspace Group PLC, the leading provider of space to small and growing businesses in London, has entered into an agreement with Taylor Wimpey PLC to redevelop the Aberdeen Centre in Islington, N5. Workspace has obtained planning consent for the £55m redevelopment scheme which comprises a new 63,000 sq ft Business Centre and 72 apartments and houses replacing 53,000 sq ft of existing studio and light industrial space on this 1.9 acre site. The construction work will be undertaken by Taylor Wimpey at no cost to Workspace, and is expected to be completed by early 2014. In return for the sale of the residential part of the scheme to Taylor Wimpey, Workspace will receive cash payments of £4.75m over the construction period, a new Business Centre and overage of 30% on private residential sales in excess of £33.1m (equating to a sales value of £750 per sq ft). Workspace owns and manages 100 properties with some 5.5m sq ft of commercial space across London, a significant number of which have potential for mixed use redevelopment. This is the second of these projects to have been announced, the first having been signed in March 2011 with developer, Mount Anvil, for a £80m mixed use scheme in Wandsworth Town Centre. A number of similar projects are being actively progressed with mixed use planning consent already achieved at Bow Enterprise, E3 and Grand Union in North Kensington, W10, for a total of 700 residential apartments and 166,000 sq ft of new Business Centre space.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/sharewatch/investments-rising-gold-prices-will-keep-randgold-on-track-despite-increasing-costs-6256325.html "Hansteen OUR VIEW: BUY SHARE PRICE: 75P (+0.95P) Hansteen, the UK and continental European property investment company, issued what analysts called another positive update yesterday. The rent roll was stable, the like-for-like vacancy figure was lower, and recent disposals were, as analysts at Peel Hunt highlighted, "all above current valuations". Indeed, despite harbouring worries about property markets in light the darkening economic outlook both here and on the Continent, we were reassured by the update. It showed that Hansteen was on strong ground, which will no doubt attract investors as they move away from riskier options in the sector. But it wasn't just the headline performance indicators that caught our attention. We were impressed by both by the strength of the balance sheet – Peel Hunt notes that Hansteen has "£400-£450m" of financial firepower – and the tasty dividend yield of well above 5 per cent. The two factors should once again lure investors on lookout for safer ways to maintain an exposure to the commercial property markets. And so, while we are generally cautious on the sector, we would back this particular stock for its quality characteristics."
Hansteen Holdings PLC - Interim Management Statement 2nd November 2011 Hansteen Holdings (LSE: HSTN), the UK and Continental European property investment company, announces its Interim Management Statement for the period from 1 July 2011 to 1 November 2011. Highlights: * Completion of €14.9 million acquisition in Hilden, Germany, representing net initial yield of 11.3% * Acquisition of three buildings at Aztec West Business Park, Bristol for £11.0 million * £3.7 million of disposals in the UK and €14.0 million of sales in Continental Europe, all sales at a combined yield of 6%. * Like-for-like vacancy in Q3 reduced by 16,000 sq m to 445,033 sq m * Like-for-like rent roll increase of £1.1 million in Q3 (rising to £2.6 million including the rent from Hilden) VIEW FULL STATEMENT HERE http://www.hansteen.co.uk/PDFs/20111102_Interim_M_Statement.pdf
Hansteen Holdings PLC (LSE: HSTN), the investor in continental European and UK real estate, announces its half year results for the six months ended 30 June 2011. Financial Highlights * Profit before tax increased by 115% to £16.8 million (HY10: £7.8 million) * Normalised profits* increased by 87% to £18.2 million** (HY10: £9.7 million) * Portfolio valued at £780.1 million (FY10: £744.6 million) * 30 June 2011 diluted EPRA Net Asset Value of 87 pence per share (FY10: 84 pence per share***) * 30 June 2011 IFRS Net Asset Value of 86 pence per share (FY10: 83 pence per share***) * Annualised rent roll of £61.5 million (HY10: £58.2 million) * Spring interim dividend of 2.1 pence paid May 2011, autumn interim dividend of 1.6 pence payable on 24 November 2011 (14% increase on the autumn 2010 interim dividend of 1.4 pence) Operational Highlights * £150 million (£146.5 million net of expenses) raised by way of a Placing and Open Offer at a price of 81 pence per share * 214 lettings and lease renewals with a total annual rent of £10 million * 20 sales across the Group with a total value of £17.8 million, a yield of 5.7% and a combined profit above book cost of £1.2 million * New £42 million loan concluded by the Hansteen UK Industrial Property Unit Trust (“HPUT”) for future acquisitions * Existing currency hedge strengthened by moving the floor from €1.42 to the £1 to €1.20 to the £1 * Profit before gains and losses on investment properties, sale of subsidiaries, sale of available for sale investments, foreign currency derivatives and foreign exchange and changes in fair value of interest rate derivatives ** Including £5.3 million insurance receipt ***Adjusted for the dilutive effect of the Placing and Open Offer announced on 13 April 2011 James Hambro, Chairman, commented: “This interim statement reports an encouraging first half and a significant financial strengthening of the Group. Profits are up both in total (£16.8 million compared to £7.8 million for H1 2010) and in earnings per share (2.8 pence compared with 1.6 pence for H1 2010). Net asset value has increased from 84 pence to 87 pence notwithstanding the £150 million placing and open offer and a materially increased dividend paid during the period. Furthermore, the Group has achieved this with low gearing and now has considerable capacity to make further acquisitions.”
HANSTEEN TO ACQUIRE GERMAN INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY FOR €15 MILLION Hansteen Holdings (LSE: HSTN), the UK and Continental European property investment company, announces that it has notarised two purchases of a substantial multi-let industrial estate and a modern car dealership investment located in Hilden, Germany, for a total acquisition cost of up to €14.9 million, representing a net initial yield of 11.3%. The vendor is a Company within the St Martins Property Group. The first purchase comprises a multi-let industrial estate with a lettable area of 26,514 sq m and a current rent of €1,385,605 per annum; tenants include Cable & Wireless and Verizon. Approximately 4,000 sq m, in three industrial units, with a combined lettable value of around €240,000 per annum, is currently vacant. The total acquisition cost is €11.8 million an initial yield of 11.4% and a reversionary yield of 13.7%. The second purchase comprises a Mercedes car dealership constructed in 2005 and let at a current rent of €335,000 per annum, on a lease to 2025 with no breaks. Hansteen has agreed to pay €2.95 million for this investment; however, the existing tenant has a pre-emption right which entitles the tenant to purchase the property for the same price within a month of having received formal notice about the acquisition. Accordingly this property may or may not be finally acquired by Hansteen. Hilden is centrally located in the Ruhr region, 10 km south of Düsseldorf and 35 km north of Cologne. The site has easy access to the A59, A46, and A3 motorways, which connect all the major cities in the Ruhr region and is located in the main industrial area of Hilden, an area characterised by many logistics companies and car dealers. Ian Watson, Joint Chief Executive of Hansteen commented: “We are absolutely delighted with these purchases which give Hansteen everything it normally looks for. Good quality property with a high yield and vacancy which should enable us to grow income and the capital value over time. We already have 14 assets within the region, which gives us a good insight into the current occupier market and gives us substantial management efficiencies.”
Property plays Created: 18 April 2011 Written by: Simon Thompson Working that space Workspace, a leading provider of industrial and office space to small- and medium-sized businesses in London, has been making noticeable progress realising value from its developments in recent months. Three weeks ago the company entered into a development agreement with specialist London residential developer Mount Anvil, for the regeneration of Wandsworth Business Village, SW18. Workspace had already obtained mixed-use planning consent on the two-acre site for 209 apartments, a quarter of which will be affordable housing, and a new 80,000 sq ft business centre. The company will retain the overall freehold of the site and will receive half of any proceeds from the sale of the private residential apartments in excess of £50m. And, in March, Borough Tower Hamlets granted consent for 557 apartments and a new 60,000 sq ft business centre at the company's Bow Enterprise Industrial Estate, close to the Olympic Park. Only a few weeks earlier, the Secretary of State granted permission for seven acres of land at Workspace's Tower Bridge Complex, in south London, to be redesignated as mixed-use. An application for 1,070 apartments and 90,000 sq ft of new commercial space is now going through the planning process. The company has also entered into a five-year joint venture with BlackRock UK Property Fund to target high-yielding multi-let industrial or office buildings in London and the south east. The partners are committing £100m of equity into the venture - of which Workspace will contribute £20.1m - and it will be seeded with the sale of eight properties owned by Workspace worth £35m at an initial yield of 8.2 per cent. The proceeds of the disposal will reduce the company's debt and will lower its pro-forma loan-to-value ratio to around 50 per cent at the end of March 2011, according to analyst Michael Burt of Espirito Santo. Given this positive newsflow, it is hardly surprising that shares in Workspace have been making progress and, at 27p, they have risen 20 per cent since I advised buying at 22.5p ('Hot property', 14 Oct 2010). Moreover, they are now closing in on my upgraded target price of 29p ('Target prices', 7 Feb 2011). That target price looks very achievable as it equates to Oriel Securities' triple net asset value (NAV) estimate of the company and is a 17 per cent discount to Espirito Santo's March 2012 NAV estimate. So, offering a further 7.5 per cent potential upside to my 29p target price, I remain a buyer of Workspace's shares ahead of its full-year results on 6 June.
Charts indicators show 96% buy: http://www.insidestocks.com/texpert.asp?sym=wkp.LS&code=BSTK Can feel wind gathering in sails now after a good while becalmed. See also number 416 out of 914: http://www.nasd100.com/2011/04/best-rated-uk-stocks-apr-4-2011.html
Workspace hubs aim to woo the entrepreneurs from Evening Standard yesterday London's biggest landlord for start-ups is to open 12 "entrepreneur hubs" across the capital. Workspace hopes its Touchdown centres, set up within its existing sites, will attract small business owners looking for temporary office space where they can combine working with networking. The first two centres will open next month in Clerkenwell Workshops and The Leathermarket near Tower Bridge, with another 10 planned for the following 12 months. Kennington and Westbourne Studios are among the other sites being considered. Membership costs £75 a month. http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-business/article-23937612-workspace-hubs-aim-to-woo-the-entrepreneurs.do
Wandsworth Business park j/v and pp at Bow Enterprise Industrial Estate, E3 close to the Olympic Park. Plus redesignation of Tower Bridge complex as mixed use. All good. GLA http://www.workspacegroupplc.co.uk/rns-archive/rns-announcements/
Received this message from company last night: "Hansteen Holdings plc ('Hansteen') (LSE: HSTN), the investor in UK and continental European real estate has exchanged contracts to acquire a 1.221 million sq ft multi-sector portfolio of 61 freehold and leasehold assets (the 'Portfolio') from various subsidiaries of Kilmartin Holdings Limited (in Receivership), Kilmartin Group Limited (in Receivership) and Annfield Assets Limited (in Administration) for £80.375 million. The Portfolio has the following characteristics: *1.221 million sq ft across 54 freehold and seven leasehold properties *18 properties in England, 42 properties in Scotland and one property in Northern Ireland *24% by value in industrial, 30% in retail, 23% in offices, 8% in leisure and 15% in development land *48.2% by value in England, 49.5% in Scotland and 2.3% in Northern Ireland *Net annual rent receivable of £5.596 million, equating to an initial yield of 7.0% (8.1% excluding land) *Current vacancy of 58.3%, with an ERV of over £8.9 million The Portfolio is highly compatible with Hansteen’s intensive management approach and the Directors’ experience across the UK market. The acquisition of the Portfolio is to be funded from Hansteen’s existing cash resources. It is intended however that the acquisition of three freehold industrial properties from the Portfolio will be completed by the Hansteen UK Industrial Limited Partnership for total consideration of £9.465 million. The acquisition of the majority of the Portfolio will complete on 5 May 2010 and the acquisition of the leasehold properties will complete five business days after obtaining the relevant landlord consents. Ian Watson, Joint Chief Executive of Hansteen commented: 'The Portfolio provides a great opportunity to create significant added value through improving occupancy levels and imposing our intensive management approach.' Morgan Jones, Joint Chief Executive of Hansteen added: 'We have reached an exchange in ten days and during this transaction have established sound working practises with the Administrators, the Receivers and the Bank and have consolidated relationships we hope to build further on in the future.' "
Hansteen Holdings has entered into a conditional agreement to acquire or procure the acquisition of an 861,010 sq m German industrial property portfolio from HBI S.?.l. and HBI Delta Sub S.?.l. for EUR330 million, · The Portfolio: o 34 freehold properties across Germany o Approx 861,010 sq m of leasable area on 205 hectares o Let to occupiers for industrial, workspace and office use o Net annual rent receivable of EUR30.3 million per annum, equating to an initial yield of 9.2 per cent. o Current vacancy of 24.4 per cent., with an ERV of up to EUR7.7 million o Capital value of built space EUR384 per sq m compared to an insurance rebuild cost of EUR798 per sq m o Originally acquired for approximately EUR439 million and at peak, valued at EUR454 million o Highly compatible with Hansteen's existing German portfolio and intensive management approach · Funding o c.EUR260 million five year facility arranged by UniCredit on beneficial terms and with no recourse to the Hansteen Group o c.EUR70 million from Hansteen's existing cash resources · Transaction subject to shareholder approval at a General Meeting expected to be held on 1 April 2010 Ian Watson, Joint Chief Executive of Hansteen commented: "We know this portfolio well; it was acquired during the time we were assembling our German portfolio and the two are highly compatible. Our management approach will provide an opportunity to create significant added value, particularly by improving occupancy levels." Morgan Jones, Joint Chief Executive of Hansteen added: "This portfolio has recently suffered significant capital constraints. We believe that a new asset management strategy could add further value. These opportunities, coupled with a new five year loan on very beneficial terms make this transaction particularly attractive to us."
"Uk REITS attractive to lenders" from Estates Gazette today. Workspace and Hammerson in process of refinancing £300 of debt, as UK's reit sector continues to prove attractive to lenders. Flexible office space company Workspace is understood to be in latter stages of refinancing £200m debt facility provided by GE The facility due to mature in 2012 and with the margin on the loan to increase from 200 to 300 basis points in Aug next, the co. is believed to be looking for longer term debt on less expensive terms Lloyds believed to have put out a term sheet to wkp. lloy already has a jv with co. after refinancing Glebe project last year. Other banks in discussion with Workspace in what would appear to be a club financing deal of a little less than £200m, include, inter alios, Eurohypo, Deutsche Pfandbrief Bank and Bayern LB. Rothschild advising Workspace. GLA
Thanks for the heads up on CIC. I haven't looked at them since I traded TAP at a bit of a profit last year prior to their takeover by CIC. I have invested in Hansteen (hstn) as I am an admirer of Morgan Jones and Ian Watson and mindful of the returns they got for shareholders of Ashtene over the years when they were involved there. hstn coverted to a reit and joined the main market a while ago. My stake is currently 13% down since prchse, but I am continuing to hold until I know whether or how they have been able to get their war chest invested. I am confident they will invest very wisely and with thorough due diligence. The difficulty at the moment is too much cash chasing to little decent real estate, but as the likes of Sir F...Goodwin Sands shipwrecked bank and others sort out their loan books and release more for sale more opportunities should present.. Otherwise mnr and cey prop up my portfolio, the remainder of which is focused on income generation. GL. R p.s. Do you remember how wkp spiked a while ago when Hansteen was rumoured to be about to bid?
Yes, my long term conviction is unaltered and bolstered by the factors you mention, also by the fact that they are able to take advantage of demand for nursery accommodation by business start ups, which many predict should return this year.
It surely can't have been unreasonable to expect, with the recent positive figures released, that this would at least, edge up and hold a few clicks higher, but still stubbornly remaining around 21p. Am I missing something?
"Financier Nick Roditi's involvement in small business space developer Workspace could deepen as he increased his stake as part of yesterday's placing. About 42m shares are to be placed with Rovida, Mr Roditi's vehicle, taking his holding from 25 per cent to 29 per cent. He was once one of George Soros's top lieutenants in Europe. " http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/59815570-e463-11de-a0ea-00144feab49a.html?nclick_check=1