5th Feb 2007 07:01
Dolphin Capital Investors Limited05 February 2007 For release07.00am 05 February 2007 Dolphin Capital Investors Limited ("DCI" or the "Company") First investment in Croatia - €35 million commitment in Livka Bay Resort Dolphin Capital Investors Limited, a real estate investment company focused onthe Master-planned Residential Resort sector in Southeast Europe and managed byDolphin Capital Partners Limited ("DCP"), is pleased to announce the closing ofa new investment in Livka Bay Resort, situated on the island of Solta, Croatia. DCI is one of the largest real estate investment companies listed on AIM. TheCompany focuses on early-stage, large scale leisure-integrated residentialresorts mainly in Greece, Cyprus, Croatia and Turkey. The Company's sharescommenced trading on AIM on 8 December 2005, having raised £70.7 million (€104million) at an issue price of 68p, followed by a £202.7 million (€300 million)secondary offering at a price of 93p per share in October 2006. Highlights: • Livka Bay Resort ("Livka Bay" or the "Project") represents DCI's first investment in Croatia and is intended to become one of the first exclusive residential resorts on the Dalmatian coast with a luxury hotel, a 160-berth marina and other supporting recreational, sports and retail facilities. • The Project's beach-front, 56-hectare site (the "Site") surrounds the bay of Livka on the south end of the island of Solta which is only 15 km away from Split International Airport. The majority of the Site has recently achieved the relevant zoning. • DCI is committing a total of €35 million to acquire a 90% shareholding in the Project company and fund the resort's initial development expenses. The remaining shares are owned by Virtus Investments BV ("Virtus"), a developer of high-end resorts. • At closing, DCI has paid €5.2 million to acquire a 90% shareholding in the Project company with a further amount of up to €16.6 million to be paid in stages conditionally upon permit progression and certain sale thresholds being achieved. An additional amount of €2.8 million has also been contributed into the Project company to repay part of the existing shareholder loans made to the company and also to fund part of the ongoing development expenses. Said Miltos Kambourides, Managing Partner of DCP: "Livka Bay marks DCI's firstinvestment in Croatia, a country whose residential resort potential remainslargely untapped. Livka Bay is expected to be one of the first developments tocome to market, providing DCI with a leading position in the Dalmatian coast." Further Details: Livka Bay represents the development of a premier master-plannedleisure-integrated residential resort comprising an exclusive residentialdevelopment of approximately 80,000 residential buildable m2, a luxury 80-roomhotel, a 160-berth marina and other supporting recreational, sports and retailfacilities. The Site is located around Livka bay on the island of Solta, an uninhabited andunspoiled natural cove on the south-eastern side of the island, off the coast ofSplit. Solta is some 15 km from the mainland and is accessible within 30 minutesby ferry or private boat from Split International Airport, which has directscheduled flights currently from Frankfurt, London, Rome and Milan. Livka Bay Resort is expected to be one of the first leisure-integratedresidential resorts to come to market in Croatia. The Project has alreadyobtained zoning for the first phase of its development comprising the marina,hotel, club house, retail village, beach club and some residential show villas.Zoning for the remaining residential component (villas and apartments) isexpected during 2007. Final permits for the entire Project are expected within18 months and construction is set to begin during the second half of 2008. DCIis in advanced negotiations with leading operators and designers for thedevelopment and operation of the resort. DCI is committing a total of €35 million in return for a 90% shareholding in theProject company. An initial investment of up to €21.8 million will take the formof a staged acquisition, subject to specific permit milestones and residentialreal estate sales having been achieved. An additional amount of €13.2 millionhas been committed to repay existing shareholder loans (€2.4 million), acquireadditional contiguous land and fund the permitting and early development phasesof the Project. The remaining shares in the Project company are owned by Virtus Investments BV,a holding company developing high-end resorts. Virtus has successfully beenacquiring the land and taking it through the zoning process over the past twoyears and will continue to manage the permitting process of the Project untilall construction permits are granted. At Closing, DCI acquired 90% of the shares in the Project company by paying €5.2million to Virtus and by contributing an additional €2.8 million into theProject company to repay part of the existing shareholder loans and fund part ofthe ongoing development expenses. For further information, please contact: Dolphin Capital Partners LimitedMiltos Kambourides / Pierre [email protected] / [email protected] Grant Thornton Corporate Finance Tel: +44 (0) 20 7383 5100(Nominated Adviser)Philip Secrett Panmure Gordon Tel: +44 (0) 20 7459 3600(Broker)Richard Gray / Dominic Morley / Andrew Potts Adventis Financial PR Tel: +44 (0) 20 7034 4765Annie Evangeli Tel: +44 (0) 20 7034 4757Peter Binns Tel: +44 (0) 20 7034 4760 Notes to Editors Dolphin Capital Partners DCP is an independent private equity firm founded in 2004 by Miltos Kambouridesand Pierre Charalambides after leaving Soros Real Estate Partners. The DCP professionals combine extensive local knowledge and contacts withexpertise gained at some of the world's leading financial institutions. Theyspecialise in providing capital to rigorously selected real estate developmentsin Southeast Europe by joint venturing with local developers. For everydevelopment, DCP partners with an international and sophisticated network ofoperators, designers, master-planners, marketing agents and financialinstitutions. Dolphin Capital Investors In addition to Livka Bay, DCI has closed investments in seven other projects,namely Kilada Hills Golf Resort, Scorpio Bay Resort, Apollo Heights Polo Resort,Amanmila Resort, Lavender Hills Golf Resort, Sitia Bay Golf Resort and SeascapeHills Resort, committing a total of €236 million since its Admission to AIM inDecember 2005. DCI's investment objective is to provide shareholders with strong capital growthcombined with a low risk profile through investing in early-stage sophisticatedleisure-integrated resort developments in Southeast Europe (principally Greece,Cyprus, Croatia and Turkey) in partnership with leading developers andoperators. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Dci Advisors