8 December 2014

Hansteen Holdings PLC

("Hansteen")

Hansteen acquires nine properties for €56.6 million in Germany

Hansteen Holdings PLC (LSE: HSTN), the UK and Continental European property investment company, announces that it has acquired nine multi-let and single-let industrial properties, located in established commercial zones across Germany, for a total of €56.6 million, inclusive of costs.  A portfolio of seven properties has been acquired from SEGRO plc and the other two from Tetra Pak Produktions GmbH & Co KG and from Kungsleden AB respectively.

Hansteen has also exchanged conditional contracts with SEGRO for the acquisition of a further three estates in Germany for € 5.0 million, which, if the transactions proceed, should complete by the end of the first quarter of 2015.

The purchased assets provide a total lettable area of 139,187 sq m, of which 26,527 sq m (19.06%) is currently vacant.  The properties produce a combined passing rent roll of €5.27 million per annum from 22 tenants, reflecting an initial yield of 9.3 per cent, with an unexpired weighted average lease term of 4.76 years.  When fully let, the portfolio is expected to produce a rent roll in excess of €6.69 million per annum. 

The portfolio of seven properties acquired from SEGRO comprises a total lettable area of 105,865 sq m, of which 8,532 sq m is currently vacant, with the key assets located in Aachen, Hannover, Darmstadt and Willich.

In a separate transaction, Hansteen has acquired from Tetra Pak a vacant 17,995 sq m property on a 45,112 sq m site.  Located in Berlin-Heiligensee (North West) at the border with Brandenburg, the property is four minutes drive from the A111 motorway with transport links to Hamburg and Poland in the north and via the city ring road in the south to Hannover, Leipzig and Munich.   

Hansteen has also acquired from Kungsleden a 15,327 sq m, single-occupier, head office, manufacturing and distribution property on a site of 31,236 sq m.  It is let on a long lease to Bulten GmbH, whose main business is the production and distribution of screws and bolts for the automotive industry.

The acquisitions were funded from existing cash resources along with a new five-year loan facility which has been agreed with HSBC.

Ian Watson, joint Chief Executive of Hansteen, commented: "We are pleased to have assembled these high-yielding assets at their current vacancy levels and relatively low rents as we believe they offer significant reversionary potential. Occupier demand in Germany for this type of property remains strong and we are now beginning to see significant capital interest in the sector too."

Paul Rodger, Hansteen's Germany Director added: "The assets are located in regions which are well known to us and where we have a strong asset management track record.  We expect these new properties to provide opportunities to add value and they can be absorbed into our existing platform at minimal additional management cost."

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HANSTEEN HOLDINGS PLC

Hansteen Holdings PLC (LSE: HSTN) is a European industrial REIT that invests in properties with high yields, low capital costs and opportunity for value improvement across Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium and France.

Founded by Morgan Jones and Ian Watson, the Company listed on Aim in November 2005 raising £125 million.  In 2009, it raised a further £200.8 million by way of a Placing and Open Offer and moved to the Official List, converting to a REIT shortly thereafter.  In April 2011, the Company raised a further £150 million by way of a Placing and Open Offer.

At 30 June 2014, the portfolio under management comprised 4.4 million sq m and was valued at over £1.6 billion.