Property Acquisition

8 Aug 2005 07:00

First Property Group PLC08 August 2005 Embargoed until 7am, 8 August 2005 First Property Group Announces First Polish Acquisition First Property Group plc ("Fprop" or "the Company") (AIM: FPO), the onlinecommercial property transaction platform and property asset manager, announcesthat it has completed the purchase of its first property outside of the UK, a10,200 sq ft. retail complex, consisting of a supermarket and pharmacy based ina densely populated residential area of Warsaw, Poland. The acquisition was for a consideration of £1.077 million (zl6.3 million) and isthe first property to be bought by the Company's newly opened office in Warsaw.The deal underlines Fprop's strategy of sourcing commercial property investmentopportunities in parts of the world, such as Eastern and Central Europe, wherehigher yields are available and where the Company believes the rate of growthwill be better than in the UK. The properties are let to two top covenants, namely: Jeronimo, a leadingPortuguese supermarket chain with 600 Biedronka stores in Poland, and Rossman,the market leading German pharmacy with over 1,450 stores in Germany, Poland,Hungary and the Czech Republic, for a rent of c. £100,000 per annum, representing a yield of 9.3% per annum. After all costs, the property is expected to deliver arate of return on equity of over 15% per annum. Commenting on the purchase, Ben Habib, CEO of Fprop, said: "Given the sharp risein commercial property investment values in the UK, we have, for some time, beenexploring opportunities abroad and in particular in Central and Eastern Europe,where growth rates are currently higher. This is the first investment to be madeby our Warsaw office, which opened earlier this year. On the back of the successof this initial venture, we anticipate making further acquisitions in Europe, aswe seek to expand our asset management activities internationally." - ENDS - For further information: Ben Habib Richard Sunderland/Rachel DrysdaleFirst Property Group plc Tavistock Communications LimitedTel: 020 7731 2844 Tel: 020 7920 3150www.fprop.com rsunderland@tavistock.co.uk Notes to Editors: First Property Group is an integrated, internet based, property services andasset management group. Its various divisions are: First Property Asset Management ("FPAM") - First Property Group's property fundmanagement subsidiary, commenced trading in October 2002. FPAM now has fivefunds containing circa £22 million of property assets under management. Commercial Property Database ("CPD") - In 2001, Fprop acquired CPD, whichprovides access to its interactive database of UK properties exclusively tocommercial property agents via their own web sites, giving multiple searching ofsize, location and property type, thus also providing agents with an incomegenerating facility. CPD provides database and web services to about 100commercial property agents in the UK. Online Sales of Properties - First Property Group plc operates a web basedbusiness-to-business property transaction platform established to facilitate thebuying and selling of UK commercial property. By combining an email marketingcampaign to its database of some 35,000 property practitioners, with links todetailed property particulars at www.fprop.com, it sells property entirely online without the assistance of any traditional services. Property Transaction Underwriting - Given Fprop's access to property for sale,its financing capability, its online sales capability and its in-houseexpertise, the Company also operates a property transaction underwriting service. This service allows Fprop to target vendors who have property for sale and offer to act as a buyer of last resort. If the property is sold on the market, any upside above the guaranteed price is typically shared 50/50 between the vendor and the Company. The Company only targets property which it believes it could add value to within a twelve to twenty four month period, with a view to a resale thereafter at a profit. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange