23rd Mar 2005 09:20
Wichford plc23 March 2005 23 March 2005 WICHFORD PLC THREE NEW PROPERTIES ACQUIRED FOR £22 MILLION INSTITUTIONAL PLACING OF 2,777,781 NEW ORDINARY SHARES Wichford plc ("Wichford" or the "Company"), a property investment company, todayannounces that it has entered into contracts to acquire three properties for acombined total of £22,070,000. The properties produce a total rental income of£1,508,147 with a blended net initial yield of 6.6 per cent. It has also arranged through its broker, Evolution Securities, a placing of2,777,781 ordinary shares of 10p each ("Ordinary Shares") at a price of 180pence per new Ordinary Share ("the Placing"), of which 555,558 Ordinary Shareshave been placed for cash and 2,222,223 Ordinary Shares have been placed,conditional upon completion, on behalf of the vendors of two of the properties("the Vendor Placing"). None of the new Ordinary Shares will rank for dividendsin respect of the current year ending 30 September 2005. Ladywell House, Edinburgh Ladywell House is held freehold and is a modern office building of just over50,000 sq. ft. The building is let to the First Secretary of State (successorto the Secretary of State for the Environment) until 2020 at a current rent of£675,000 per annum and the next rent review is January 2006. This property willbe acquired for £10,450,000, at a net initial yield of 6.33 per cent. Theconsideration will be satisfied as to £8,600,000 in cash and £1,850,000 millionby the issue of 1,027,778 new Ordinary Shares, of which 833,334 new OrdinaryShares are subject of the Vendor Placing. Completion of the acquisition andadmission to AIM of the 1,027,778 new Ordinary Shares being issued in connectionwith it are expected to occur on 6 April 2005. Armstrong Road, Acton Armstrong Road, Acton is a freehold office of 38,342 sq. ft. built in 2002.Currently occupied by the Department of Work and Pensions as a Job Centre, thebuilding is let to Trillium (PRIME) Property GP Limited until March 2019 andwill generate income of £687,667 per annum. The property will be acquired froma private property company for £9,750,000, at a net yield of 6.7%. The consideration will be satisfied as to £7,100,000 in cash and £2,650,000 bythe issue of 1,472,222 new Ordinary Shares at a price of 180 pence per OrdinaryShare, of which 1,388,889 are subject of the Vendor Placing. Completion of theacquisition and admission to AIM of the new Ordinary Shares being issued inconnection with it is expected to occur on 30 March 2005. Derby Road, Grays, Essex Derby Road is a modern office building of 12,204 sq. ft. let to the Secretary ofState for the Environment for 25 years from September 1995, with a break clausein 2009. The property is occupied as a Job Centre and the rental income is£145,480 per annum. The property was acquired from private investors for£1,870,000 in cash giving a net initial yield of 7.36%. The Directors estimate that Wichford's portfolio, following these acquisitions,is now valued at approximately £230m and its total borrowings amount toapproximately £170 million. Institutional Placing The Company continues to identify acquisition opportunities which fit itsinvestment parameters. Accordingly, in addition to the 2,222,223 new OrdinaryShares being placed on behalf of the vendors of Ladywell House, Edinburgh andArmstrong Road, Acton, the Company is also placing, through EvolutionSecurities, a further 555,558 new Ordinary Shares at the same price of 180 penceper new Ordinary Share to raise £1 million for working capital purposes. Asstated above, none of the new Ordinary Shares will rank for dividends in respectof the current year ending 30 September 2005. Enquiries Citigate Dewe Rogerson Tel: 020 7638 9571Patrick Toyne-SewellFiona Bradshaw Notes to Editors Wichford plc is a property investment company, with a portfolio focused on UKinvestment property outside Central London occupied exclusively by UK CentralGovernment bodies, which listed on AIM in August 2004. Assuming completion ofthe above acquisitions, the company will have 37 properties under managementwith a gross asset value of around £230 million generating a rental income ofover £15.5 million per annum. The company maintains a portfolio of propertiesacross the UK with unit values usually between £3 million and £15 million. Theproperties are occupied by UK Central Government bodies and all are outsideCentral London. Wichford is seeking to benefit from the Government's commitmentto act upon the recommendations of the Lyons Review (March 2004) that about20,000 public sector jobs should be relocated outside London and the South-Eastof England over the next seven years. The Company's current portfolio has aweighted average unexpired lease term of 11 years. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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