Sirius Real Estate Regulatory News (SRE)

9 Apr 2008 07:00

Dawnay, Day Sirius09 April 2008 Dawnay, Day Sirius Limited Pre Close Trading Update Dawnay, Day Sirius Limited (the "Company"), the real estate company establishedto acquire large mixed-use commercial sites for upgrading to flexible workspacesin Germany, is pleased to provide a trading update for the period ended 31 March2008. The Company has made good progress towards establishing a significant portfolioof mixed-use commercial sites in Germany. Since the half year end at 30September 2007, the Company has announced the acquisition of three properties: • Bayreuth acquired in October 2007 for €10.6 million at a net initial yield of 6.4% • Sud-Center business park in Offenbach, acquired for €9 million in December 2007 at a net initial yield of 7.4% • BorsigWerke acquired in March 2008 for €28 million at a net initial yield of 8.9% Today the Company is pleased to announce a further acquisition: a business parkin Dusseldorf acquired in March 2008 for €8.7 million at a net initial yield of7.5%. The four acquisitions, purchased for a total consideration of €60.2million, provide an average net initial yield of 8.0%, off passing rents rangingfrom €2.4 per sq m to €11.0 per sq m, at an average capital value of €479.3 persq m. The Company is also pleased to announce the acquisition of 37,900 sq m ofvacant land adjacent to the business park in Dusseldorf for €4.8 million. Thesite, similarly acquired in March 2008, is currently completely undeveloped andhas excellent development potential. As a consequence, the Company has now invested a total of €400 million,representing 53% of the target full investment. DTZ Zadelhoff Tie Leung GmbHwill carry out a valuation of the portfolio as at 31 March 2008, and this willbe reported in the Company's year end results, expected to be announced in June2008. Asset Management Dawnay, Day Sirius Real Estate Asset Management Limited (the "Asset Manager")has successfully secured a number of new leases across the portfolio. Anadditional 26,876 sq m of space has been let during the period and new dealshave been agreed, pending signature, on a further 16,000 sq m. To meet the needsof the growing portfolio the Asset Manager has expanded its team in Germany to94 people, compared with 68 at 30 September 2007. Since admission the Company has acquired 30 properties, including the initialportfolio, with a combined lettable space of circa 815,000 sq m. The Company'sstrategy is to acquire large under-utilised mixed use real estate in Germanywith significant opportunities for transformation into vibrant, branded businessparks that offer the SME market good quality flexible workspace solutions.Branding has been completed at 18 sites and the transformation process ofupgrading to attractive flexible workspace with complementary facilities isunderway at 15 of these properties. Developing surplus land either for additional flexible workspace or providingcomplementary site usage via third party providers is also a significant part ofthe Company's strategy. There is a significant pipeline of developmentopportunities in the final stages of negotiation, and construction work hascommenced on two sites: a 'new box' on the Berlin Gartenfeld site, and a newretail development unit for Burger King which is undergoing construction atBayreuth. Banking facilities In March 2008 the Company secured credit approval for a new facility of €101mwith Berlin Hyp, which will bring the total borrowings to €225 million at aweighted average interest rate of 5.2% and a loan to value ratio well within thecriteria set at IPO. The Company has the necessary funds to pursue its strategyand remains confident of its continued ability to obtain the necessary bankfinancing going forward. Kevin Oppenheim of the Asset Manager said: "Demand for flexible workspace from the German SME sector remains strong withenquiries for new lettings increasing. Reflecting the broader economicenvironment, there are now even fewer buyers of assets that require activemanagement in the German market, and as a consequence the Company has a strongpipeline and is finding acquisition opportunities at more attractive yields. Webelieve the Company is ideally placed to capitalise upon this opportunity." Further Enquiries: Sirius Facilities Group Kevin Oppenheim 020 7861 0550www.dawnaydaysirius.com Alistair Marks JPMorgan Cazenove Robert Fowlds 020 7588 2828 Bronson Albery KBC Peel Hunt Capel Irwin 020 7418 8900 Cardew Group Tim Robertson 020 7930 0777 07900 927 650 Shan Shan Willenbrock Catherine Maitland This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange