Thg Regulatory News (THG)

13 Mar 2006 07:00

Terrace Hill Group PLC13 March 2006 Terrace Hill Group PLC ("Terrace Hill" or "the Group") AGM Statement And New Contract to Develop 160,000 sq ft Campus for Gateshead College Overview: • Continue to perform and deliver to shareholders • Acknowledged as the best Scottish listed company performer in February by the Bank of Scotland with an 11% total shareholder return • Triple Net Asset Value (TNAV) up by over 20% to 48.06p per share • Total dividend for the year up 50% to 1.2p per share • Development programme up 50% to £900m • Continue to expand corporate strategy to deliver increased value for shareholders • Major new contract win - developing 160,000 sq ft campus for Gateshead College on Baltic Business Quarter in Tyne & Wear Terrace Hill, the AIM-listed property group, held its Annual General Meeting ('AGM') on 10 March 2006 and all resolutions were duly passed. At the meetingManaging Director Philip Leech made the following statement: "We continue to perform strongly and to deliver on our promises to shareholders,increasing our activity levels and expanding our portfolio. This washighlighted in our recent results where we again increased the Triple Net AssetValue (TNAV) of the Group, this time by over 20% to 48.06p per share. We alsolifted the total dividend for the year to 1.2p per share from 0.8p in 2004 toreward shareholders for their support and reflect the performance of the Group.The Bank of Scotland acknowledged our accomplishment when it named Terrace Hillthe best performing Scottish listed company in February, for showing an 11%total shareholder return (a measure of the return to an investor in terms ofboth share price growth and dividend yield). "Encouragingly and as reported in February, we have enlarged our developmentprogramme to around £900m from £600m in 2004, acquiring a number of newproperties and sites, both commercial and residential. These are at variousstages of development and include income producing assets with redevelopmentpotential, such as the Castle Gate House in Sheffield, which we acquired in ajoint venture for £7.3m. Currently let to retailer BHS, our aim is to develop amixed use scheme including retail, residential, health and fitness. "Since the results we have contracted to develop a new 160,000 sq ft campus forGateshead College on Baltic Business Quarter in Tyne & Wear. This will stand onthe corner of Hawks Road and Quarryfield Road and marks an exciting start to the1.5m sq ft scheme. Construction began in February and is expected to becompleted by late 2007. "While we are focused on seeking acquisition opportunities to further increaseour development programme, we also continue to explore other means of buildingthe business, as highlighted by the establishment of our property fundmanagement division in 2005. We are also considering spinning out the housebuilding operation, which we believe could create increased value for ourshareholders. "I believe that our flexible and opportunistic approach to market trendstogether with our highly experienced, regionally based management teams willtake Terrace Hill to new heights. With a target internal rate of return of20-25% per annum, we look forward to further rewarding shareholders and remainconfident that 2006 will meet all our expectations." * * ENDS * * For further information please contact: Philip Leech, Group Managing Director Tel: 01642 243444 Alasdair Robinson, Noble & Company Limited Tel: 0131 225 9677 Isabel Crossley, St Brides Media & Finance Ltd Tel: 020 7242 4477 Notes to editors: Terrace Hill Group PLC is an AIM traded Property Group with NAV £76 million andmarket capitalisation around £105.78m (based on mid share price on 9 March 2006of 56.4p). It has two divisions, Commercial Development throughout the UK andResidential Investment and Development in Scotland and the North of England,with a development programme of around £900 million with £335 million underway.Terrace Hill reported an increase of over 20% in pro-forma Triple NAV to 48.06pper share in the year to 31 October 2005, and a 40% increase in final dividendfrom 0.5p per share to 0.7p per share. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange