Hansteen ready to snap up bargains
Hansteen Holdings, the listed REIT that invests in industrial property in the UK and continental Europe, today said it was ready to take advantage of opportunities to buy UK properties from banks and administrators at “good prices”, as it announced a 5% dip in NAV per share to 80p as at 30 June, down from 84p at the end of 2009, as a result of adverse currency movements. The total value of the group’s portfolio, much of which is in Germany, rose to £721.9m at 30 June from £422.8m a year earlier.
Chairman James Hambro said the group expected opportunities for capital growth to be limited, given the current economic outlook. The group would “focus on generating a high income surplus from our assets while continuing to acquire assets capable of significant capital growth once the markets recover,” he added.
Hambro said the markets in all countries in which Hansteen operates remained “very tough” but added that occupancy had broadly stabilised throughout the portfolio and noted signs of increasing occupier confidence in Germany in particular.
