HSTN.L Regulatory News (HSTN)

Date of issue: 6 August 2018

LEI: 213800WMV4WVES8TQH05

ST. MODWEN PROPERTIES PLC

("St. Modwen" or "the Company")

ST. MODWEN RELEASES £47M OF CAPITAL VIA SALE OF 34 ASSET PORTFOLIO

St. Modwen has exchanged contracts for the disposal of a portfolio of 34 assets to Hansteen Holdings PLC for a total cash consideration of £53.7m. Adjusted for assets held in joint venture, St. Modwen's share of the consideration is £47.3m, which compares to a book value for its share of the assets of £48.1m as of November 2017.

The portfolio comprises 1.4m sq ft of lettable space, of which the majority is industrial use, let to over 200 tenants. The assets are predominantly located in the Midlands and North West of England and have an overall vacancy rate of 6.1%. The contracted rental income on the overall portfolio stands at £5.25m. St. Modwen's share of net rental income received on its share of the assets during 2017 was £2.86m. The disposal is expected to complete shortly.

Rupert Wood, Property Director - Asset Management, St. Modwen, said: 

"This disposal is in line with St. Modwen's strategic objective to refocus our portfolio on fewer, larger assets with a target to sell £150-175m of retail and small assets during 2018. We have now exchanged contracts to sell £144m of these assets so far this year and, combined with previous disposals, we have now sold £76m of the c. £100m of small assets earmarked for sale when we announced our new strategy just over a year ago. As planned, we intend to reinvest the disposal proceeds into our industrial/logistics pipeline which, with a yield on incremental capex of c. 9% and limited operating costs, is expected to deliver a marked pick-up in net rental income over the long term."

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Notes to Editors

St. Modwen Properties PLC: St. Modwen is a different kind of property partner, taking a different view. Thirty years' experience as an expert developer and regeneration specialist, dealing with complex and challenging sites, has taught us to look at things differently, challenge the norm and create new and sustainable solutions to benefit all those involved. Today, we continue to unlock value and deliver quality outcomes across a wide range of activities, from regeneration to the long-term planning and development of commercial and residential assets, as well as active asset management.

We combine end-to-end expertise - through our network of regional offices, our residential business and our central asset management team, and through joint ventures with public sector and industry leading partners - to deliver lasting results for all concerned. We create places where communities grow, businesses flourish and people can feel and be at home.

St. Modwen's £1.5bn national portfolio of over 100 projects includes the regeneration of New Covent Garden Market, London; the transformation of Longbridge, Birmingham; and the on-going development of the £450 million Bay Campus for Swansea University. St. Modwen Homes is currently selling on 19 sites across the country and our asset management team pro-actively manages our £692 million income-producing portfolio.