Audioboom Grp. Regulatory News (BOOM)

18 Dec 2007 16:51

Off-Plan Fund Limited (The)18 December 2007 For Immediate Release 18 December 2007 The Off-plan Fund Limited Contracts signed in respect of new development at Wallington, Surrey The Board of The Off-plan Fund Limited (the "Fund"), which specialises inproviding forward finance to UK housebuilders, is pleased to announce theexchange of contracts for the purchase of 118 apartments to be built at a newdevelopment in Wallington, Surrey for an aggregate total of £25,000,000 oncompletion, a discount of 18% to the prevailing "Red Book" valuation of£30,595,000. •The scheme consists of 118 apartments in a part-conversion/part new-build development. The units will comprise a mix of studio, one and two bedroom apartments totalling 69,500 square feet with 81 parking spaces. Many of the apartments will have terraces or balconies, with some spectacular views towards the London skyline. There will be a private residents' gym and a running track around the residents' roof garden which, together with a concierge service, offer purchasers a range of modern day lifestyle requirements. •The development is extremely well located on Manor Road, adjacent to Wallington railway station where travel times to London Bridge and London Victoria are approximately 30 minutes. Wallington is located between the two large employment areas of Croydon and Sutton, with the M25 located 8 miles south offering easy access to Gatwick (18 miles) and Heathrow (23 miles). •A strong development team has been appointed by the developer Henry Homes, with Gardiner Theobald as project managers and Carey Jones as architects. The developer itself is well established and operates primarily in the Home Counties and London where it has undertaken a range of inner city and suburban apartment and house developments. Full planning permission for the development is in place. The strip out of the existing building is underway with the main construction program to commence March 2008. It is anticipated to take 20 months with completions scheduled for late 2009/early 2010. •The Fund has agreed to pay an aggregate total of £25,000,000 on completion, a discount of 18% to the prevailing "Red Book" valuation of £30,595,000 provided by independent valuers CBRE. The Fund has paid a 5% deposit (£1,250,000) and ring-fenced a proportion of its completion reserve for this development. •A full marketing campaign is to commence in the first quarter of 2008 in conjunction with the developer. Should the Fund achieve the Red Book valuation for this development prior to completion, it would generate a gross profit of between c£1.6m and c£1.9m (equivalent to between 14.1p and 17.1p per share) - the range being due to incentives provided to the developer to secure early sales. The development should appeal to investors and owner-occupiers, especially young professionals working in the city and local business districts due to the excellent communication links and the lifestyle nature of the development. Nigel Henry, a director of Henry Homes, said: "Henry Homes are pleased to be working with the Fund on this scheme. The Fund'sunique acquisition model complements our financing structure and we havewelcomed input from the Fund and its investment adviser, Development CapitalManagement (DCM), on the design and marketing of the development. We lookforward to working closely with the Fund in respect of the Wallington scheme andon future deals should the opportunity arise." The Chairman of the Fund, Graham Berry, said: "The Walllington investment offers an attractive deal for the Fund. The Fund'sacquisition model has enabled it to secure a highly competitive position in ascheme which offers purchasers - both investors and owner-occupiers - anexcellent opportunity to purchase in a landmark development which is welllocated for transport links. A strong relationship has been forged with a wellrespected developer with whom we look forward to working." Images of the development scheme can be found on the websitewww.signatureapartments.info. List of ContactsDevelopment Capital ManagementRoger HornettAndy GardinerDarren Blake020 7355 7600 Numis SecuritiesAdam ShaptonCharles Farquhar020 7776 1500 Buchanan CommunicationsCharles RylandIsabel Podda020 7466 5000 Notes to Editors: •The Fund is managed by Development Capital Management (Jersey) Limited •The Fund provides a form of mezzanine finance through the acquisition of UK residential property, sold forward by developers as a means of securing better debt finance. The Fund then looks to sell the properties prior to completion. By utilising only the deposit and purchasing at a discount, the investment becomes highly geared, as do the potential returns. •The Manager has built a strong working relationship with a number of developers and has been reviewing sites at the earliest stages of development. This approach allows the Fund to act as a strategic partner with the developer commenting on possible developments sites prior to the developer acquiring the property which enables the Fund to make investments on terms that may otherwise not have been achieved. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange