Conditional Sale - Saunderton
Molins PLC
18 July 2007
18 July 2007 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MOLINS PLC
Conditional Sale of Saunderton Site
On 17 July 2007 Molins PLC signed a conditional contract to sell its 26 acres of
developed land and buildings together with 25 acres of agricultural land at
Saunderton, Bucks ('the Site'). The contract provides that on satisfaction of a
number of conditions, e-shelter facility services GmbH ('the Buyer'), will
acquire the freehold interest in the Site for a consideration of £18.85m, or
£18.35m if completion of the transaction is before 30 November 2007. On
completion, Molins will lease approximately 5,000 square metres of building
space on a rent-free basis for up to three years to continue its current
activities.
The contract provides that the Buyer has a period of exclusivity during which it
will seek to satisfy various practical conditions relating to the Site. Once
these conditions have been satisfied, the consent of shareholders in general
meeting will be sought, which is required in view of the size of the transaction
relative to Molins. The receipt by the Buyer of satisfactory planning
permission for its development scheme is also a condition to the contract.
The Buyer has paid Molins £100,000 as a non-returnable deposit. Further
deposits may subsequently become due depending on the time taken to satisfy the
practical conditions above. The Buyer may serve one month's notice to terminate
the conditional contract at any time up to the point that all of the Buyer's
conditions, except receipt of planning permission, have been satisfied.
At 31 December 2006 the book value of the assets subject to the transaction was
£13.3m before deferred tax. Rental income from the Site of £0.2m was received
by Molins in the year to 31 December 2006. The net proceeds from the sale of
the Site, which are estimated to be approximately £16m after tax and expenses,
will be used to repay debt and to fund the working capital requirements of the
Group.
e-shelter facility services GmbH is a German based company, owned by Investa
Immobiliengruppe, a privately owned project development firm that has managed
investments in excess of €3 billion since its inception. e-shelter is the
largest provider of data centre services in Germany and the intended purchase of
the Site is part of the execution of its strategy to enter the UK market. Its
main facility is in Frankfurt, which provides 60,000 square metres of space, and
it also has sites in Berlin, Hamburg and Munich.
Trading Update
The trading outlook for the full year continues broadly to match the
expectations of the Board, although the slow start to the year in Scientific
Services continues.
Enquiries: Molins PLC Tel: 01908 219000
Peter Byrom, Chairman David Cowen, Group Finance Director
Issued by: Citigate Dewe Rogerson Tel: 020 7638 9571
Margaret George
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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