Hightex Group Regulatory News (HTIG)

12 May 2008 06:00

Hightex Group plc ("Hightex") Contract win: Dolce Vita Tejo shopping mall in Lisbon; unique Selective and Low-E cushion roof for one of the largest Shopping Malls in Europe Hightex is pleased to announce that, with its consortium partner Martifer Construcoes Metalomecanicas S.A., the Portuguese steel construction company, a part of the Martifer Group, it has signed a contract to provide the complete steel structure, ETFE cushion roof and facade for the Dolce Vita Tejo shopping mall situated in Lisbon, Portugal for Chamartin Imobiliaria in partnership with ING Real Estate. Totaling more than 120,000 square meters of gross rentable area, this will be the largest shopping mall in Portugal and one of the largest in Europe. The centre will have 300 stores, a giant hypermarket, a cinema complex and Portugal's largest shopping car park. Completion is scheduled for 2009. The total contract volume for Hightex is around EUR 8.5 million. The Directors of Hightex expect that approximately EUR 7.5 million of this revenue will arise in 2008, with the balance in 2009. The significance of this contract is that the Dolce Vita Tejo shopping mall will be the first shopping centre in the world to have a unique ETFE roof design. The benefits of ETFE cushions are finding greater and greater use in modern building design. The Dolce Vita project marks an important milestone in allowing ETFE to compete with glass in thermal performance, through the use of high performance Selective Filters and Low-Emissivity ("Low-E") coatings applied to the cushion system. Emissivity is a measure of how much a glass or other surface transfers radiant heat. The Selective Filter is a coating which represents a pioneering use of the ETFE membrane, as the Selective Filter allows more light than heat to enter the building. The second feature, a Low-E coating, serves to prevent the roof, when it gets hot, radiating heat into the building, thereby reducing the cooling costs. The project design by international architects RTKL in co-operation with local architects Promontorio in Lisbon and, with structural engineers Atelier One in London is unique in other aspects. The concept achieves an environment within the building which gives the feeling of being outside, but at the same time reduces the direct solar gain from the sun and controls heat build-up to give a comfortable environment. The design has taken the benefits of lightweight, transparent ETFE cushions and tailored them to suit the building's unique requirements. The design is a 21st century solution of the "northern light" principle, allowing light mainly to enter the building from the north thus eliminating unwanted direct heat build-up and glare. This is achieved by the cushion roof forming "windows" within their three dimensional form, whilst at the same time rejecting or filtering light and energy using selective filters and Low-E coatings. The development work for the performance coatings carried out by Hightex and its industrial partners will open the market for ETFE to compete with traditional glazing in terms of thermal performance. Charles DesForges, Chairman, stated that "Hightex Group is delighted to have been selected for such a prestigious project. The two key innovative features, the Selective Filter and low-E coating, added to the basic ETFE membrane offer exciting opportunities for further contract wins for this new breed of structures". Enquiries: Charles DesForges, Chairman, Hightex Group plc +44 (0) 207 603 1515 Sindre Ottesen, Landsbanki Securities +44 (0) 207 426 9000 About Hightex Hightex has a long history of building large span roofs and facades using architectural membranes, exemplified by the Abuja Stadium for the All African Games in 2003 as well as the Berlin Stadium, Germany, used for the most recent FIFA World Cup Final in 2006. Hightex has been awarded the contract to provide the membrane roof as part of the upgrading of the First National Bank (FNB) Stadium in Johannesburg, which will be the stadium for several first and second round matches, one quarter-final and the final match at the FIFA 2010 Football World Cup. In 2006 Hightex completed one of the largest membrane projects in the world, designing and constructing the energy-saving, sound-optimised, triple layer