Acquisition in Poland

RNS Number : 7844F

Globalworth Real Estate Inv Ltd

31 October 2018

 

The information communicated within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement, this information is considered to be in the public domain.

31 October 2018

Globalworth Real Estate Investments Limited

("Globalworth" or the "Company")

Acquisition in Poland

Globalworth, the leading office investor in Central and Eastern Europe, is pleased to announce that its subsidiary, Globalworth Poland ("GPRE")¹, has entered into a preliminary sale and purchase agreement with Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield for the landmark acquisition of two high quality office buildings in Warsaw, known as Skylight and Lumen.

Skylight and Lumen are located above the Złote Tarasy Shopping Centre in the heart of the Warsaw Central Business District, benefiting from excellent connectivity to the city's main train station, other means of public transport and the amenities of an established and well-recognised mixed-use complex. The buildings were completed in 2007 and offer a gross leasable area of 45,500 sqm over 18 and 8 storeys respectively.  With a current occupancy of approximately 89%, the properties have a contracted rental income of c.€11.5 million and a weighted average lease length of nearly four years. The properties are multi-tenanted, with a range of tenants including Pernod Ricard, Mars, PGE Energia Ciepła, InOffice, Regus and Cushman & Wakefield.    

Dimitris Raptis, Deputy CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Globalworth, commented: "We are excited by this major acquisition of landmark assets in the centre of Warsaw, representing our largest asset acquisition to date.  Our strategy is to own assets within which we can create a strong sense of community, suited to the needs of a dynamic workforce. Skylight and Lumen offer centrally-located modern office space with excellent local amenities and transport connectivity. Their addition will further enhance our leadership in the Polish office market and aspirations in the CEE region and reiterate our focus on acquiring assets with ongoing asset management opportunities and attractive total return potential."

The total transaction consideration is set at €190 million and is subject to working capital and other customary adjustments². This acquisition will represent a substantial transaction pursuant to the AIM Rules³, and is anticipated to be funded from GPRE's existing cash resources, following the extension and increase of the existing second loan agreement, as announced on 17 April 2018, between the Company and GPRE, which also represents a substantial transaction pursuant to the AIM Rules⁴.      

The preliminary sale and purchase agreement is subject to various customary conditions, including competition clearance for the transaction, which must be satisfied.  The final sale and purchase agreement is expected to be executed no later than 31 December 2018, and a further update will be provided in due course. 

For further information visit www.globalworth.com or contact: 

Enquiries

Andrew Cox                                                                                                                     Tel: [phone]

Head of Investor Relations & Corporate Development  

Jefferies (Joint Broker)                                                                                                   Tel: [phone]

Stuart Klein

Panmure Gordon (Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker)                                        Tel: [phone]

Andrew Potts

Milbourne (Public Relations)                                                                                        Tel: [phone]

Tim Draper

About Globalworth / Note to Editors: 

Globalworth is a listed real estate company active in Central and Eastern Europe, quoted on the AIM-segment of the London Stock Exchange.  It has become the pre-eminent office investor in the CEE real estate market through its market-leading positions both in Romania and in Poland, where the Company has a majority shareholding in Globalworth Poland, a pure-play Polish real estate platform listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.  Globalworth acquires, develops and directly manages high-quality office and logistics/light-industrial real estate assets in prime locations, generating rental income from high quality tenants from around the globe. Managed by over 170 professionals across Romania and Poland, the combined value of its portfolio is in excess of €2 billion, as at 30 June 2018. Over 90% of the portfolio is in income-producing assets, predominately in the office sector, and leased to a diversified array of some 510 national and multinational corporates. In Romania, Globalworth is present in Bucharest, Timisoara and Pitesti, while in Poland its assets span Warsaw, Wroclaw, Lodz, Krakow, Gdansk and Katowice. For more information, please visit www.globalworth.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

IMPORTANT NOTICE:  This announcement has been prepared for the purposes of complying with the applicable laws and regulations of the United Kingdom and the information disclosed may not be the same as that which would have been disclosed if this announcement had been prepared in accordance with the laws and regulations of any jurisdiction outside of the United Kingdom.  This announcement may include statements that are, or may be deemed to be, "forward-looking statements". These forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms "targets", "believes", "estimates", "plans", "projects", "anticipates", "expects", "intends", "may", "will" or "should" or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy, plans, objectives, goals, future events or intentions. These forward looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts and involve predictions. Forward-looking statements may and often do differ materially from actual results. Any forward-looking statements reflect the Company's current view with respect to future events and are subject to risks relating to future events and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to the Company's business, results of operations, financial position, liquidity, prospects, growth or strategies and the industry in which it operates. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made and cannot be relied upon as a guide to future performance. Save as required by law or regulation, the Company disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements in this announcement that may occur due to any change in its expectations or to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this announcement.

 

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¹ Globalworth has a 68.4% shareholding in Globalworth Poland Real Estate N.V. ("GPRE")

² The transaction has been structured as a corporate acquisition, with the consideration payable to the vendor, entities controlled by Rodamco Central Europe B.V., for the shares in Złote Tarasy Tower Warsaw III S.Á.R.L. ("ZTT") on completion of €26 million (subject to working capital and other customary adjustments) plus a further €164 million to subrogate shareholder loans.

³ Prior to closing, and as part of a group reorganisation to effect the transaction, ZTT will acquire Lumen and associated parking premises from another entity controlled by the seller.  As ZTT has not therefore prepared historical audited financial statements including Lumen and associated parking premises, in order to comply with Schedule 4 of the AIM Rules a pro-forma of the attributable profits to ZTT for the year ended 31 December 2017 of €4.4 million has been calculated, based on the assumption all assets were owned for the 2017 financial year.

⁴ Under the same terms and conditions as the loan announced on 17 April 2018, an additional loan to GPRE for up to €180 million will be funded from the Company's existing cash resources, replacing €96.7 million of non-utilised facility under the second loan agreement, for a term of seven years.

 

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