Red Leopard Holdings Regulatory News (RLH)

23 Jan 2008 10:36

Red Leopard Holdings PLC23 January 2008 Red Leopard Holdings plc announces property transaction by joint venture partner In 2007 Red Leopard Holdings plc ("Red Leopard") entered into a joint ventureagreement with First Broughton Group UK Ltd ("First Broughton") under which RedLeopard has made a loan to First Broughton of £80,000 to take advantage ofspecial opportunities in Britain's residential property market. First Broughton has now exchanged contracts to purchase 46, Preston Road,Weymouth for £800,000. It is the intention of First Broughton to apply forplanning permission to demolish the existing property and to build a developmentof eight apartments. Preston Road is located in one of the best residentialareas in Weymouth. The town itself received a boost when it was recently chosento host the sailing events in the 2012 Olympics. Red Leopard does not have any equity interest in the property or in FirstBroughton, however under the terms of the joint venture agreement Red Leopardwill receive interest and a third of all proceeds net of interest and expensesupon the future sale of the property. There are no additional fundingobligations on Red Leopard under this agreement. Completion of the property acquisition by First Broughton will take place onemonth after full planning permission for the development of the eight apartmentshas been obtained. Planning permission has been granted on at least six othersimilar properties in Preston Road and it is not anticipated there will be anydelays in obtaining permission. The intention is for the construction of the apartments to be undertaken by aGerman timber frame company using advanced modular construction techniques. Thistype of construction is environmentally friendly and the construction period isapproximately half that of conventional build. The contractor has alreadycompleted a similar project. Mr John May, a Director of Red Leopard Holdings plc stated that "with thepotential slowing of the housing market as presented in the national press it isessential to take advantage of all different types of cost savings. TheGovernment estimates that a minimum of 200,000 homes a year still need to bebuilt over the next ten years and which in the main are affordable. This projectfits exactly into that footprint and is in line with Red Leopard's statedstrategy going forward". For further information please contact: Clive Russell, Red Leopard Holdings Plc, Tel: 07799 623 412John May, Red Leopard Holdings Plc, Tel: 07860 715 075 Shane Gallwey, Blue Oar Securities Plc, Tel: 020 7448 4400 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange