Alpha Group International Regulatory News (ALPH)

27 Dec 2006 08:45

Alpha Pyrenees Trust Limited27 December 2006 For publication in the United Kingdom only. Not for release, publication ordistribution in or into any other jurisdiction including the United States,Canada, Australia, South Africa, the Republic of Ireland or Japan. 27 December 2006 Alpha Pyrenees Trust Limited ("Alpha Pyrenees" or the "Company") €96 million Acquisition of Paris Business Park The Board of Alpha Pyrenees (the "Board") is pleased to announce that AlphaPyrenees has acquired, with IPGL Limited ("IPGL"), a 77,000 square metrebusiness park comprising in total 20 office, warehouse and research anddevelopment buildings (the "Business Park"). The vendor is SIVN (Societe Immobiliere Villarceaux Nozay) and the tenant isAlcatel-Lucent, a major French multi-national corporation with a marketcapitalisation of in excess of €20 billion. The deal is a sale and leasebackand the tenant has signed a 12 year lease with a minimum term of 9 years. Thelease benefits from annual inflation-linked rent indexation. The properties willprovide an income stream which will enhance Alpha Pyrenees' earnings. The total consideration for the acquisition of the Business Park is €124.5million of which Alpha Pyrenees' 77% share is approximately €95.9 million. Thepurchase consideration will be satisfied by the Company's and IPGL's existingcash resources and a new Alpha Pyrenees group debt facility. The total costsincluding acquisition costs are approximately €130.9 million. The total rent from the Business Park will be approximately €9.6 million perannum, of which Alpha Pyrenees 77% share will be approximately €7.4 million,giving an annual rental yield of approximately 7.3 per cent including costs. Alpha Pyrenees has signed an option agreement with IPGL whereby the Company hasthe option to call IPGL's 23 per cent interest in the Business Park for apre-determined price and IPGL has the option to put IPGL's interest, for thesame pre-determined price, in the Business Park to the Company subject tocertain conditions. Phillip Rose, CEO of Alpha Real Capital the Company's Investment Managercommented: "This is an excellent acquisition for Alpha Pyrenees of a strategically located,high quality asset which is rented for a minimum 9 year period to largemultinational group that has demonstrated a long term commitment to the site. Itwill produce an annual rental yield of approximately 7.3 per cent with thepotential to add value to the portfolio through future development andrefurbishment. We are delighted that we have also secured an option to purchasethe remaining 23% of the Business Park on attractive terms to the Company." Contact: Phillip Rose, CEO, Alpha Real Capital 020 7591 1609 Neither this announcement nor any copy of it may be taken or distributed intothe United States of America or distributed or published, directly orindirectly, in the United States of America. Any failure to comply with thisrestriction may constitute a violation of US securities law. The securitiesreferred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the USSecurities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and may not beoffered or sold in the United States to or for the benefit of US persons unlessthey are registered under the Securities Act or pursuant to an availableexemption there from. No public offering of securities is being made in theUnited States. The distribution of this announcement and information containedherein may be restricted by law in other jurisdictions and therefore personsinto whose possession this announcement or information contained herein comesshould inform themselves about and observe any such restrictions. Notes: ABOUT ALPHA REAL CAPITAL Alpha Real Capital is a value-adding international property fund managementgroup with operations in both the French and Spanish real estate markets. AlphaReal Capital was established by Phillip Rose and Sir John Beckwith. Phillip Rose has 25 years' experience in the real estate, funds management andbanking industries in Europe, the USA and Australasia. He has been Head of RealEstate for ABN AMRO Bank, Chief Operating Officer of European shopping centreinvestor and developer TrizecHahn Europe (where he was responsible for a €1billion European investment and development programme from 1999-2000), ManagingDirector of Lend Lease Global Investment where, during his tenure from 1994 to1999, he was responsible for managing European property investments andExecutive Manager of listed fund General Property Trust. He is currently anon-executive director of Great Portland Estates and a member of the ManagementCommittee of the Hermes Property Unit Trust. Sir John Beckwith has been involved in property investment and other investmentfor his entire working life. He founded London & Edinburgh Trust PLC ("LET") in1971 where he was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and developed it into oneof the top ten listed real estate companies in the UK. Following the sale ofLET, he established Pacific Investments through which he founded a number ofsuccessful asset management businesses, including Liontrust Asset Management andThames River Capital. Alpha Real Capital is the Investment Manager to Alpha Pyrenees. Alpha RealCapital's European Funds Director, Paul Cable, is Fund Manager, Alpha PyreneesTrust. Paul Cable has 27 years experience in the real estate and bankingindustries in the UK, Europe and the Far East and was previously responsible forSir John Beckwith's property investment activities in France and Spain for sixyears. Further information is available at www.alpharealcapital.com including contactdetails for Alpha Real Capital's UK, French and Spanish offices. ABOUT ALPHA PYRENEES Alpha Pyrenees is a Guernsey registered closed-ended investment companyinvesting in French and Spanish commercial real estate. Investment Strategy Alpha Pyrenees' strategy is to invest in a diversified portfolio of propertiesin France and Spain, focusing on commercial property in the industrial,logistics, office and retail sectors. Alpha Real Capital believes that therewill be capital growth opportunities in the portfolio through income growth,active asset management and yield compression. Directors The Directors of the Company, all of whom are non-executive, are responsible forthe implementation of the investment policy of the Company and the overallsupervision of the Group's activities. The Board consists of: Richard Kingston (Chairman) Christopher Bennett David Jeffreys Phillip Rose Serena Tremlett Richard Kingston was an executive director of Slough Estates Plc, one of thelargest London Stock Exchange listed property companies. He was responsible forGroup Finance at Slough Estates Plc for nine years, and chairman of theircontinental European real estate activities. He was a non-executive director ofMersey Docks and Harbour Company and is a qualified Chartered Accountant. ABOUT IPGL IPGL is a Holding Company substantially controlled by Michael Spencer. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange