3rd Jul 2007 07:01
Dawnay, Day Sirius03 July 2007 3 July 2007 Dawnay, Day Sirius Limited has agreed to acquire two German business parks for€26.15 million and agreed a major lease extension at Bremen Dawnay, Day Sirius Limited (the "Company"), the real estate company establishedto acquire large mixed-use commercial real estate in Germany for upgrading toflexible workspaces, is pleased to announce that it has agreed to acquire twofreehold business parks for a combined total of €26.15 million. In addition, theCompany has agreed a new 5 year lease extension at its largest site in Bremenwith the anchor tenant BAT, the international tobacco group. In line with the Company's strategy, the two sites being acquired are wellsuited for upgrading into modern flexible workspaces to be leased predominantlyto small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The German SME sector hasexperienced strong improvements and is a key component of the German economy.The Company believes that there is currently no other branded operator at anational level of quality flexible workspaces targeting tenants in the SMEsector. Mannheim The first acquisition is a business park located in Mannheim, 70 kilometressouth of Frankfurt and is one of the largest areas of industry in Germany. Thesite consists of offices, production facilities and warehouses with a totallettable space of 68,320 m2. The occupancy rate is 67.8% and tenants includeBopp & Reuter AVG, a subsidiary of the German IWKA Group. The net rental incomeis approximately €1.75m with a net initial yield of 12.95%. There is approximately 29,000 m2 of vacant warehouse and office space whichprovides the Company with the opportunity to transform and modernise the site toattract new predominantly SME tenants. This will include sub-dividing intoflexible workspaces, creation of a conference centre and installation of afitness centre to attract local residents. The site also has surplus land whichwill provide significant future development opportunities. Koln The second acquisition is a mixed-use commercial site located in Wilhelm-RuppertStreet which consists of production facilities, offices, a hotel and oneresidential building with 3 units with a total lettable space of 30,742 m2. Thesite is located in an industrial area of the district Koln-Wahn which has easyaccess to the motorway and is only five minutes from the Koln-Bonn Airport. Thecurrent occupancy rate is 72.1% and is mainly occupied by a large number ofsmall and medium sized enterprises. Net rental income is approximately €0.91mwith a net initial yield 7.13%. There is approximately 8,576 m2 vacant warehouse, office and leisure space.Again, the Company intends to transform this area to attract new tenants andprovide attractive local facilities. There is an existing fitness centre onsite. Bremen The Company has agreed a five year lease extension and a rental increase withBAT at Bremen, which is the Company's largest site. BAT currently occupies21,000 m2 of space and is the Company's anchor tenant. In addition, the Companyhas also agreed a new short term storage facility lease with BAT on the samesite. The storage facility is 8,000 m2. Completion of both acquisitions will take place following satisfaction ofstandard administrative conditions. Kevin Oppenheim of the Asset Manager said: "These acquisitions are significant and provide us with an ideal opportunity tomodernise and rebrand into vibrant business parks to attract new SME tenants.The sites are well-located in established commercial areas, with scope togenerate a significant uplift in rental value. In addition, we have asignificant pipeline of further acquisitions and are in active discussions witha number of vendors to acquire similar sites. We are also very pleased that BAThas agreed to extend their lease in Bremen, which we believe reflects positivelyon the value of the improvements we will make to the site." 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 M: 07900 927 650 Shan Shan Willenbrock Catherine Maitland Notes to Editors The Company was admitted to AIM ("Admission") in May 2007 with an initial marketcapitalisation of €300 million. Following Admission, the Company in June,acquired 20 properties in Germany with a combined lettable space totalling c.390,000 m2, independently valued by DTZ at €206 million ("the InitialPortfolio"). The Company announced its intention to acquire the InitialPortfolio at the time of its Admission. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Sirius Real Estate