Acquisition
Dawnay, Day Carpathian PLC
21 December 2007
DAWNAY, DAY CARPATHIAN PLC
('DDC' or the 'Company')
Announces the acquisition of six supermarkets in Croatia
Dawnay, Day Carpathian PLC, the retail property investment company established
to invest in Central and Eastern Europe, is pleased to announce the acquisition
of six supermarkets in Croatia, for a total purchase price of €53.7 million,
representing an initial yield of 7.65%.
DDC will be acquiring four Croatian special purpose vehicles that own the stores
and will rent them to Konzum d.d. ('Konzum'), the largest retailer in Croatia,
after the acquisition.
Konzum's parent company, Agrokor, is the largest company in Croatia and besides
the retail operations, it is the largest food manufacturing company in the
region of South Eastern Europe. Konzum's market share was 21.5%, and growing,
when a comparison of the top ten retailers was undertaken in 2006 by GfK -
Centre for Market Research. Konzum has over 570 stores throughout Croatia and it
is estimated by Nacional Neovisni News Magazine that 500,000 people shop in
these retail stores every day.
Two of the stores are located in Zagreb, two in commuter suburbs of Zagreb, one
in Slavonski Brod and one in Kutina. The total lettable area is over 32,000
square meters and all stores are in prominent areas and located on main arterial
routes. Five of the stores are to be acquired on new 15 year leases that will
run for a minimum of 10 years with 9 month break clauses and corresponding 9
month penalty clauses in the final 5 years. Of the four stores in Zagreb, one,
at Spansko, has three years left on the lease and Agrokor, the parent company,
will provide a net operating income guarantee for another twelve years or until
the property is re-let with a similar or better strength covenant, based on a
predetermined valuation test. At all of the acquired stores, the rent will be
indexed annually, reflecting 100% of the increase in EU 25 CPI.
The transaction will initially be financed with equity upon completion. However,
a credit approved loan offer has been received from a third party debt provider
to refinance a proportion of the consideration early in the first quarter of
2008. In the unlikely event the refinancing should not materialise and therefore
to mitigate the risk of equity financing the entire transaction, DDC may
exercise a put option to transfer the properties back to the seller.
Commenting on the acquisition, Rupert Cottrell, Chairman of Dawnay, Day
Carpathian PLC said 'This acquisition represents the sixth transaction since the
£100m secondary fund raising completed in May 2007 and the Company's first
acquisition in Croatia, one of our target countries. This demonstrates the
continued market expansion of DDC across Central and Eastern Europe, as we
continue to build a diversified portfolio of quality assets.'
Enquiries:
Dawnay, Day Carpathian PLC Peter Klimt 020 7834 8060
Paul Rogers
Cardew Group Tim Robertson 020 7930 0777
Catherine Maitland
Notes to Editors
DDC listed on the AIM market in July 2005 and raised new funds to create a
geared €1 billion portfolio of retail properties. To date, the Company has
purchased four shopping centres in Poland, the Antana Warehouse Park in Hungary,
the Varyada Shopping Centre in the Czech Republic, the Promenada Shopping and
Business Centre in Poland, the Plaza Portfolio of four shopping centres in
Hungary, Macro Mall shopping centre in Brasov, Romania, Babilonas shopping
centre in Panevezys, Lithuania, three retail developments at Cluj, Arad and Baia
Mare in Romania, and the MID portfolio across Hungary and the Czech Republic.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange