Livermore Regulatory News (LIV)

3 Jul 2007 08:00

Livermore Investments Group Limited03 July 2007 3 July 2007 Livermore Investments Group Limited ("Livermore") First Real Estate Acquisition of Wylerpark in Bern, Switzerland for CHF110 million Livermore is pleased to announce the completion of its first real estateinvestment. Livermore has purchased a 34,000 square metre commercial freeholdproperty, Wylerpark, in Bern, Switzerland, from the Swiss national railwaycompany, SBB. The acquisition is being made on a sale and lease back basis forCHF93.5 million (£38.3 million) and is the first of this kind to be completed bySBB. The commercial premises, which include 4,800 square metres of office spacecurrently occupied by SBB (Wyler1) and 13, 200 square metres of newly builtoffice space (Wyler 2) will be leased by SBB for a minimum of twelve years underthe terms of the deal. The total annual rent of these premises is CHF4.3 million(£1.77 million) for the first twelve months, which will be fully indexed to theSwiss consumer price index on an annual basis. Livermore has also agreed to build 39 luxury apartments overlooking the Alps onthe acquired land, which are expected to be completed in 2008 at a total cost ofCHF16 million. The project further includes rights over 8,000 square metres forfuture commercial development, which Livermore intends to pursue. Following the development of the residential assets, Livermore expects togenerate a return on equity on this investment in excess of 8 per cent andanticipates generating further gains from exercising the additional developmentrights. Livermore will establish a wholly owned special purpose vehicle (SPV)incorporated in Switzerland to purchase this asset, 85 per cent of which will befinanced though non-recourse debt to the SPV, with the balance through equity. Within the Company's overall investment strategy, Livermore is currently dealingwith a massive deal flow and intends to establish a real estate portfolio in arange of US$1 billion. Such assets would be predominantly located inSwitzerland, generating secure income streams from tenants with high creditratings, where possible. Noam Lanir, Chief Executive Officer of Livermore, commented, "the purchase ofWylerpark will grant Livermore ownership in one of the highest qualityproperties in Switzerland and gives us a foothold in the Swiss real estatemarket, in which we intend to extend our investment activities. This investmentwill generate a secure income stream from a AAA-rated tenant and potentiallyprovide additional yield enhancement through the development of the accompanyingresidential project and the additional commercial development rights." Contact: Michael Sandler, Hudson Sandler Tel: +44 (0)20 7796 4133 Notes to Editors The Swiss Railway, SBB, is the biggest travel and transport company inSwitzerland. It is wholly-owned by the Swiss Confederation which is rated 'AAA'by Standard & Poor's. Wylerpark is located near the centre of Bern. Thisindustrial area, formerly used for freight purposes by SBB, is currentlyundergoing development, which will result in a mixed-use zone of offices andresidential premises. This development is based on an architectural competitionorganised by SBB Immobilien in 2004 on the whole area and won by the team ofarchitect Rolf Muhlethaler from Bern. This acquisition is the result of anauction process managed by CBRE. Livermore is an international investment company trading on the AIM market ofLondon stock exchange. The Company currently has US$300m available forinvestments globally and its strategy is to generate superior returns forshareholders through shrewd investment across private equity, public equitiesand real estate. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange