Interim Management Statement

RNS Number : 8513Z

Quintain Estates & Development PLC

12 February 2014

 



12 February 2014 

Quintain Estates & Development PLC

("Quintain" / "Company" / "Group")

Third Quarter Interim Management Statement

Quintain, the London property investment and development specialist, today issues an Interim Management Statement for the period from 1 October 2013 to 11 February 2014.

Highlights 

·     Planning permission secured for 475 apartments at Wembley Park: marketing to start next month 

·     London Designer Outlet now 87% let⁽¹⁾ and more than 1 million visitors to date

·     iQ student accommodation 99.9% let and strong start to next academic year, with 44% of space already pre-let (2013: 40%)

·     £31.6 million realised from non-core asset disposals since Interim Results announcement 

·     £13.7 million acquisition of investment property on High Holborn, WC1

Max James, Chief Executive of Quintain, commented:

"Following the successful creation of a new leisure and retail heart for Wembley Park through London Designer Outlet, momentum is building at the development and we are now poised to begin delivery of one of the most significant new residential districts this quadrant of London has seen for several decades.  

"We completed our corporate repositioning last year with the Greenwich Peninsula and Sequel transactions, detailed at our Interim Results, and are pleased to announce today an additional £31.6 million of disposals. These latest transactions bring the total realised from all sales and capital recycling over the past 18 months to £500 million.

"This paves the way for selective investment in new opportunities that will add value and deliver attractive returns for investors, and as a result we were pleased to announce last week the acquisition of Kingsbourne House next to Holborn Underground station in WC1."

Wembley Park

Residential Development

In December, we secured detailed planning consent from London Borough of Brent for a 475-apartment residential development next to the Civic Centre. The development will consist of seven buildings arranged around an acre of private gardens and close to Wembley Park Underground Station and the shops, restaurants and cinema within London Designer Outlet.

Marketing of the scheme will begin next month, with construction starting shortly thereafter. The new homes being delivered are at a price point that is affordable for Londoners looking for a new home to buy or rent.

London Designer Outlet

London Designer Outlet welcomed its 1 millionth visitor on 7 January, just 11 weeks after opening. The centre traded well over the Christmas period, with more than half a million people visiting in the 6 weeks to 5 January 2014.

Since our last report in the Interim Results on 25 November 2013, 9 further brands have opened stores including LK Bennett, The Body Shop, Ping Pong, Lindt and Rockport. Meanwhile, leasing interest in the centre remains strong and Bench, New Balance and Replay have all exchanged contracts to lease new stores, lifting the total space let to 87% by base rent.

Student Accommodation

Our student accommodation joint venture, iQ, is 99.9% let for the current academic year and performing ahead of expectations for 2014/2015. Seven months before the start of the new academic year, pre-lettings of the 5,183-bedroom portfolio are ahead of the same point in 2013 at 44% (2013: 40%) and at increased average rents, up 3.9% year on year.

Disposals

Since the disposal at the beginning of the period under review of our development interests in Greenwich Peninsula (£230 million) and the SeQuel regional secondary investment property business (£53 million), we have completed six further asset sales at or above book value, realising combined gross proceeds of £31.6 million. In addition to the disposal of our interest in the Mitre Passage office building at Greenwich Peninsula for £17.1 million announced this morning, we have sold, inter alia, our residual retail interests at Greenwich Peninsula for £5.7 million, an office building in Sheffield for £2.9 million and an office building in Jersey for £3.6 million.

Investment

We announced last week that we have exchanged contracts to acquire a 21 year leasehold interest in Kingsbourne House, a recently refurbished multi-let office building at 229-232 High Holborn, and part of the adjacent 226 High Holborn for £13.7 million. The property, totalling 37,000 sq ft, is above and adjacent to Holborn Underground station. In addition to generating a strong income stream for the Group in the medium term, it also offers exciting future asset management and development opportunities.

Finance

Following the transactions set out in this statement, we anticipate net debt at 31 March 2014, based on the existing portfolio, to be lower than previously guided and in the region of £220 million.

ENDS

Enquiries:

Quintain Estates & Development PLC Max James, Chief Executive Richard Stearn, Finance Director                   Tel: [phone]

RLM Finsbury Group Jenny Davey Charlotte Whitley Tel: [phone]

⁽¹⁾  First year base rent exchanged or in solicitors hands

Forward looking statements

This announcement is for information purposes only and contains certain forward-looking statements which, by their nature, involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to or depend upon future events and circumstances.

There are a number of factors which could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward looking statements, including a number of factors outside Quintain's control. All forward-looking statements are based upon information known to Quintain on the date of this announcement and no representation or warranty is given in relation to them, including as to their completeness or accuracy or the basis on which they were prepared. Quintain gives no undertaking to update forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Information contained in this announcement relating to the Company should not be relied upon as an indicator of future performance.

 

END

 

 

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