13 Oct 2010 07:00

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Date: 13 October 2010
On behalf of: First Property Group plc ("First Property" or the "Group")
Embargoed: 0700hrs
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First Property Group plc
Maiden investment for new Opportunity Fund
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First Property Group plc (AIM: FPO), the AIM-listed property fund management group, today announces that its new Opportunity Fund, ("Fprop Opportunities plc or FOP"), which the Group announced it had established on 5 October 2010, has made its first property purchase.
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The asset is a Carrefour hypermarket in Lodz, Poland, which FOP has purchased for a consideration of circa €20 million. The lease has eleven years unexpired and is guaranteed by Carrefour S.A., the French parent company. It is forecast to earn a return on equity invested of approximately 30% per annum. FOP completed the purchase using part of the initial £7 million of equity with which First Property Group PLC capitalised the fund.
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Following its launch last week, Fprop Opportunities plc remains open to subscriptions. Interested parties should contact Jeremy Barkes on +44 207 731 2844.
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Ben Habib, Chief Executive of First Property Group plc, said:
"We are delighted to have completed our maiden investment in FOP; this Carrefour hypermarket is a core asset from which we expect to generate opportunity type returns, commensurate with the objectives of the fund, which is to earn a rate of return on equity and an internal rate of return of 15% per annum or more. We expect to announce further investments in due course, all of which we expect will exceed our minimum 15% per annum target rate of return."
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For further information contact:
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First Property Group plc | Tel: 020 7731 2844 |
Ben Habib (Chief Executive) Jeremy Barkes (Director, FJB Capital Advisers) | www.fprop.com |
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Arden Partners | Tel: 020 7614 5900 |
Chris Hardie (Director Corporate Finance ) |
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Redleaf Communications | Tel: 020 7566 6708 |
Adam Leviton | firstproperty@redleafpr.com |
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§ Publication quality photos are available from Redleaf Communications
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Notes to investors and editors
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·; First Property Group plc is a commercial property fund manager with operations in the United Kingdom and Central Europe. The performance of its funds under management ranked #1 versus the IPD benchmarks for CEE and Poland for the 4 year period to 31 December 2009.
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·; The principal business model of First Property Group can be summarised as follows:
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o raise third party funds to invest in income producing commercial property;
o co-invest in these funds;
o earn fees for the management of these funds. Fees earned are a function of the value of assets under management as well as the performance of the funds;
o earn a return on its own capital invested in these funds.
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·; It also has a 60% shareholding in a mechanical & electrical (M&E) installation and maintenance contractor, First Property Services Limited.
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·; Further information about the Company and its products can be found at: www.fprop.com.
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