Thg Regulatory News (THG)

24 Oct 2006 07:01

Terrace Hill Group PLC24 October 2006 24 October 2006 Terrace Hill Group plc ('Terrace Hill' or 'the Group') Trading Update Terrace Hill, the AIM-listed property group, is pleased to announce a tradingupdate, which includes the Group contracting to acquire a large officedevelopment site in Hammersmith, commencing the refurbishment of an officebuilding in Kingsway, London, and receiving planning consent for two keydevelopments in the North East. The key details for each of these recent trading developments are as follows: • The Group has purchased an option to acquire a prominent office development site overlooking the River Thames in Hammersmith. The site, close to Hammersmith Bridge and the Riverside Studios, has the potential to accommodate a new office building of 110,000 sq ft with retail units fronting a new riverside walkway. It is expected that construction will commence towards the middle of next year and the scheme will have a completed investment value of around £60m; • On Kingsway in London's mid town, Terrace Hill has commenced the refurbishment of a 24,600 sq ft office building with ground floor retail. The development is being carried out in joint venture with Close Brothers and completion is programmed for summer 2007. The development will have a completed investment value of approximately £16m; • At the Thanet Reach Business Park the final phase of Terrace Hill's industrial development has been sold for £1.1m to a private investor; • At the Group's Brampton Road Industrial Estate in Eastbourne a pre-sale contract has been exchanged with Safestore for a 22,290 sq ft unit at a value of approximately £2.5m; • The Group has sold a 42,250 sq ft industrial development at Decimus Park in Tunbridge Wells to investors of CBRE for £4.95m; • The Group has completed the sale of its industrial development in Crawley for £5.95m to a private investor; • In the North East, at Terrace Hill's industrial site in Bishop Auckland, outline planning consent has been received for a change of use to bulky goods retail warehousing, which includes a 55,000 sq ft store, a 15,000 sq ft garden centre and 10,000 sq ft builder's yard; and • At Teesdale Business Park, detailed planning consent has been received for five new office buildings totalling 56,000 sq ft. Construction of the first three units is due to commence at the end of 2006. Terrace Hill's development programme has continued to grow and now has acompleted investment value of £1,138m of which £477m is underway and £661m is atthe planning stage. Managing Director, Philip Leech, said: "Demand for investment property createdfrom our development programme remains strong and is supported by growingoccupier demand across most sectors. The success of our development programmeis underpinned by our broad spread across a wide geographic area and diversityof property sectors." Chairman, Robert Adair, said: "I am pleased with the progress the Group has beenmaking as exemplified by the above. I am increasingly confident that our resultsfor the current year will exceed my earlier expectations." * * ENDS * * For further information please visit www.terracehill.co.uk or 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 - AIM-listed property group with two key divisions,Commercial Development and Residential Investment and Development, and a totaldevelopment programme of £1,138 million. The Group continuously explores waysof leveraging its equity to enhance returns for its shareholders and recentlyestablished Terrace Hill Development Partnership, a commercial propertydevelopment fund. Additionally, it has moved into the healthcare sector and isdeveloping a retirement village in joint venture. The results to 30 April 2006reported Triple Net Asset Value per share of 52.65p and total group assets of£197.9 million. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange