HSTN.L Regulatory News (HSTN)

16 May 2006 07:00

Hansteen Holdings plc16 May 2006 16 May 2006 €43 MILLION OF ACQUISITION FOR HANSTEEN IN EUROPE Hansteen Holdings plc ("Hansteen") (AIM: HSTN), the property company formed byMorgan Jones and Ian Watson, founders and former directors of Ashtenne Holdings,announces today that it has acquired a number of mainly industrial/warehouseinvestments in Germany, The Netherlands and Scotland, totalling some €43 million(£29.34 million). In The Netherlands, it has acquired a portfolio of eight distribution warehousesfrom DHL at a total cost of approximately €21 million. The 64,000 sq m (688,832sq ft) portfolio has a rent role of €2.16 million per annum. The properties are based in Arnhem (7,873 sq m/84,740 sq ft), Eindhoven (2,319sq m/24,960 sq ft), Hoofddorp (8,921 sq m/96,000 sq ft), Leeuwarden (7,919 sq m/83,000 sq ft), Maastricht (8,414 sq m/ 90,000 sq ft), Tiel (12,127 sq m/130,000sq ft and 1,506 sq m/16,200 sq ft), as well as a vacant warehouse in Venlo(14,945 sq m/16,085 sq ft). Boer Hartog Hooft Encor International acted on behalf of Hansteen in respect of these properties. Also in The Netherlands, Hansteen has acquired two further investments for atotal of some €7.3 million (£5 million). In Ede, Hansteen has acquired for €5.5 million (£3.75 million) a 10,800 sq m (116,250 sq ft) warehouse/distribution centre let to GeoPost Nederland BV, theDutch arm of one of the largest postal distribution businesses in Europe. It isheld on a lease expiring in mid 2011 at a current rent of €465,700 (£319,000)per annum. In Wezep, near Zwolle, Hansteen has acquired for €1.8 million (£1.2 million), a3,100 sq m (33,370 sq ft) building let to Ten Cate, a distributor. It is held ona lease expiring in 2010 at a current rent of €154,770 (£106,000) per annum. Commenting on these acquisitions Morgan Jones, Joint Chief Executive said:"These acquisitions fit with our strategy of assembling income producing, highyielding properties with good covenants but also with some interesting assetmanagement opportunities. They fit well with the portfolio of acquisitions inThe Netherlands announced last December. We have now critical mass in TheNetherlands with over 200,000 sq m (2.2 million sq ft) of industrial/warehousing." Additionally, in Germany, Hansteen has acquired two logistic properties inRemseck, close to Stuttgart, for a total of €8 million (£5.5 million). One property comprising 7,330 sq m (78,900 sq ft) of modern warehousing dividedinto ten units with ancillary offices, is let to a variety of tenants includingSVK, a publishers, Wiso Logistic and Pomodoro, food wholesalers, on leases running to 2010 and producing a total current income of €490,000 per annum. The other property is a 3,800 sq m (40,000 sq ft) modern warehouse withancillary offices let to IGE FA Fachorosshandel/Ofterdinger & Sailer GmbH on alease to December 2009 at a current rent of €281,000 (£191,000). The building is sublet to Thyssen Krupp, which has invested significantly in the property. Camilli, Veiel acted on behalf of Hansteen in Germany. Finally, in Scotland, Hansteen has acquired a 90-acre site in Gilston nearFalkirk, Scotland for £5 million (€7.33 million) from Warner Estate Holdingsplc. The site was a part of the Ashtenne portfolio prior to its acquisition byWarner. The site, close to junction 4 of the M9, has planning consent for commercialand residential development. Hansteen is in discussion with the planners tobring forward an exciting development. Ian Watson, Joint Chief Executive of Hansteen commented: "These propertiescompliment our earlier purchases in Germany. Buying off-market has meant we havebeen able to secure well let properties but with some asset managementopportunities at good yields confirming our belief Germany will offer excellentinvestment opportunities. We are looking to do more." He added: "The land at Gilston is a site we know well and one from which we areconfident we can extract improved value." For further information:Morgan Jones/Ian Watson Jeremy Carey/Richard SunderlandHansteen Holdings plc Tavistock CommunicationsTel: 020 7016 8820 Tel: 020 7920 3150 Notes to editors: Hansteen Holdings plc is a property company formed by Morgan Jones and IanWatson, the founders and former directors of Ashtenne Holdings plc. Hansteenraised £125 million on its flotation on AIM in November 2005, which was 3x oversubscribed. Hansteen focuses on investing in industrial properties in Continental Europe,which have higher yields, cheaper financing costs, and greater opportunity forvalue improvement through asset management than can be achieved currently in theUK. It will also seek to profit from opportunistic acquisitions in otherproperty sectors both in the UK and abroad. The Company made its first acquisitions in December 2005, purchasing circa £50million of industrial/distribution property in the Netherlands and Germany infour separate transactions. Hansteen (AIM: HSTN) has a market capitalisation of around £155 million. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange