Balanced Commercial Property Trust Regulatory News (BCPT)

24 Apr 2008 16:07

F&C Commercial Property Trust Ltd24 April 2008 To: Company Announcements Date: 24 April 2008 Company: F&C Commercial Property Trust Limited Subject: Net Asset Value Net Asset Value The unaudited net asset value ('NAV') per share of F&C Commercial Property TrustLimited as at 31 March 2008 was 120.5 pence. This represents a decrease of 6.7per cent from the published NAV per share as at 31 December 2007 of 129.2 pence. The NAV is based principally on the external valuation of the Company's directproperty portfolio prepared by DTZ Debenham Tie Leung Limited. The NAV has been calculated under International Financial Reporting Standards('IFRS') apart from the valuation of the Company's unitised investments in twoindirectly held property funds (the 'Indirect Holdings') as explained below. The Board, in its announcement in January 2008 of the Company's NAV per share asat 31 December 2007, signalled a departure from calculating the NAV inaccordance with IFRS, when it did not use the externally provided NAVs of theIndirect Holdings in arriving at the published NAV per share. Thestated reason was that the Board did not consider this to be an appropriatemethod of valuation in market conditions at that time. Accordingly, the Boarddiscounted the NAVs of the Indirect Holdings by 10 per cent to reflect its viewof their likely realisable value should the Company wish to dispose of them inan orderly fashion over time. The Board continues to believe that, in current market conditions, it is notappropriate to use the externally provided NAVs of the Indirect Holdings inarriving at the Company's published NAV per share and has again, therefore,discounted the NAVs of the Indirect Holdings by 10 per cent for the same reasonsas before. The quantum of future discounts, if any, will be reviewed regularlyby the Board with independent advice as appropriate, and amended, as required,to reflect changes in market conditions and practice. The NAV includes all income to 31 March 2008 and is calculated after deductionof all dividends paid prior to that date. It does not include provision for thequarterly interim dividend, which had an ex-dividend date of 26 March 2008 andwhich will be paid on 25 April 2008. The adjusted NAV per share after deductingsuch quarterly dividend payment was 119.0 pence. Analysis of Movement in NAV The following table provides an analysis of the movement in the unaudited NAVper share for the period from 31 December 2007 to 31 March 2008 (including theeffect of gearing): Pence per share % of opening NAVPublished NAV per share as at 31December 2007 129.2 Unrealised decrease in valuation ofdirect property portfolio (8.4) (6.5)* Unrealised decrease in valuation ofIndirect Holdings (1.0) (0.8)** Movement in discount to NAV of IndirectHoldings 0.1 0.1 Share buy backs 0.9 0.7 Movement in revenue reserve (0.3) (0.2) Published NAV per share as at 31 March2008 120.5 (6.7) Published NAV per share as at 31 March 2008 (adjusted for dividendsfor which the share price had gone ex-dividend) 119.0 \* The ungeared decrease in the valuation of the direct property portfolio overthe quarter to 31 March 2008 was 6.2%. ** the ungeared decrease in the NAV of the Indirect Holdings over the quarter to31 March 2008 was 5.7%. Portfolio Analysis £m % of portfolio as at 31 March % movement in 2008 quarterOffices 413.2 40.5 (7.7)West End 198.6 19.5 (9.0)South East 122.4 12.0 (6.4)Rest of UK 81.8 8.0 (7.0)City 10.4 1.0 (1.4)Retail 218.5 21.5 (4.4)South East 191.3 18.8 (4.1)Rest of UK 27.2 2.7 (6.2)Industrial 106.2 10.4 (4.7)South East 17.8 1.7 (9.7)Rest of UK 22.3 2.2 (4.7)Indirect 66.1 6.5 (3.2)ShoppingCentres 103.3 10.1 (6.2)Direct 68.7 6.7 (4.1)Indirect 34.6 3.4 (10.1)RetailWarehouse 177.9 17.5 (5.2)Total Property 1,019.1 100.0 (6.2) The direct property portfolio will next be valued by an external valuer duringJune 2008 and the NAV per share as at 30 June 2008, which will also include thevaluation of the Indirect Holdings on that date, will be announced in July 2008. Enquiries: Richard Kirby F&C Investment Business Limited Tel: 0207 628 8000 Graham Reaves G&N Collective Funds Services Limited Tel: 0131 226 4411 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange