Ashtenne Industrial Fund
Published: 16/11/2005, 14:00
Warner Estate Holdings PLC 16 November 2005 Warner Estate Holdings PLC ASHTENNE INDUSTRIAL FUND GROWS WITH £80 MILLION NEW PURCHASES Warner Estate Holdings PLC ("Warner Estate"), the property investment company, has today (16 November) announced the purchase of £80 million worth of property by the Ashtenne Industrial Fund ("AIF"). AIF is a limited partnership between Ashtenne Holdings Limited ("Ashtenne") and Morley Fund Management ("Morley"); Ashtenne is responsible for property asset management and Morley is responsible for the fund management and regulatory issues. Industrial Funds Limited ("IFL"), a joint venture between Warner Estate and Anglo Irish Bank, bought Ashtenne in May 2005 and this is AIF's first major portfolio transaction since. The purchase by AIF comprises all the properties from the Bareway Industrial Fund ("Bareway"), Warner Estate's joint venture with Barclays Bank, and properties from Warner Estate's wholly owned portfolio. Morley led the acquisition due diligence on the transaction to ensure the right assets for AIF were acquired, and the result has been an increase in AIF's floor space by well over 1million sq ft, from 16.74 million sq ft, and an increase in the Fund's value to c.£860 million. The properties from Bareway were four high-yielding multi-let industrial estates in the South and South East of England, totalling some 415,000 sq ft (38,553sq m) and sold for £28.9 million. The purchase from Warner Estate's portfolio comprised 12 industrial properties, located nationwide, totalling approximately 754,000sq ft (70,046sq m) and sold for £51.1m. Michael Stevens, Operations Director at Warner Estate comments, "Following the purchase of Ashtenne in May, Warner Estate's key focus in the industrial sector is the Ashtenne Industrial Fund. The sale of these properties from Bareway and our wholly owned portfolio to AIF will enable us to maximise our resources for continued outperformance by AIF." Karen Fox, Fund Manager at Morley Fund Management, comments: "This acquisition allows AIF to increase its South East property exposure in a competitive market with assets which can be actively managed to add to the Fund's continued outperformance." Martyn Bowes, Head of Barclays Property Finance team, comments: "The transfer of the Bareway portfolio at a meaningful premium to the acquisition cost reinforces our ability to extract value from strategic partnerships with our core property clients." - ends - Date: 16th November 2005 Warner Estate Holdings PLC City Profile Philip Warner, Chairman Simon Courtenay Richard Moore, Property Director Oliver Winters Peter Collins, Finance Director Tel: 020-7488-3244 Michael Stevens, Operations Director Tel: 020-7907-5100 Web: www.warnerestate.co.uk Morley Fund Management Karen Fox, Fund Manager Tel: 020-7809 6970 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange