HSTN.L Regulatory News (HSTN)

5 Jun 2006 07:00

Hansteen Holdings plc05 June 2006 5 June 2006 HANSTEEN ACQUIRES RESIDENTIAL INVESTMENT IN GERMANY AND INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY IN FRANCE Hansteen Holdings plc ("Hansteen") (AIM: HSTN) the property company formed byIan Watson and Morgan Jones, founders and former directors of Ashtenne Holdings,announces today that it has acquired a significant portfolio of residentialproperties in Wiesbaden, Germany and a warehouse property in Bordeaux, France.The two purchases amount to €31 million. In Wiesbaden, Hansteen has acquired 38 apartment buildings from the municipalityof Wiesbaden for €21 million (£14.5 million). The buildings have a total of 392mainly 2/3 bedroom apartments and 17 commercial units producing a current rentalincome of €1.4 million (£959,000) per annum with an E.R.V of around €1.8millionper annum. Wiesbaden, a prosperous city, is the state capital of Hessen and wellknown as a health resort due to its hot springs. Hansteen will undertake refurbishment and re-letting and subsequently sell someof the properties.It will hold the balance as investments with the expectation of rental growthgenerated by the improvement in the general economy. Hansteen's agent in the above transaction was Camilli & Veiel Business Immobilien GmbH. Ian Watson, joint chief executive of Hansteen commented: "The residentialacquisition falls into the opportunistic arm of our business. We believe thereis potential in Germany to develop a track record in buying difficult propertyfrom the Public Sector, Corporate Sector and financial vendors. Often suchsituations will have a residential content and this purchase enables us to beginto develop this side our business in a low risk fashion. In Bordeaux, Hansteen has acquired a 38,380 sq m (413,000 sq ft) warehouse fromMitsiu the international bottling logistic and packaging group for approximately€10 million. The acquisition is subject to a leaseback to Mitsiu on an unbroken 12 year leaseat a current annual rent of €800,000 (£545,000) per annum. The warehouse is one of the largest wine bottling and storage warehouses in theBordeaux area and provides Hansteen with an excellent investment. Hansteen's agent was Brown Cooper Marples and the vendor's agent was CBRE. Morgan Jones, joint chief executive of Hansteen, said: "This is Hansteen'ssecond sale and leaseback transaction following the D.H.L deal and our firstacquisition in France. We believe there will be more opportunities of thisnature in Europe with a growing trend away from owner occupation." For further information, please visit www.hansteen.co.uk or contact: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 £150 million. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange