Hansteen Holdings to Re-enter UK Property Market

Last Tuesday, on June 23rd, the Hansteen Holdings (HSTN.L) property group announced its plans to raise approximately £194.6 million in order to purchase UK commercial property, which has significantly fallen in price as a result of the economic recession. The company, which was listed by AIM and the property portfolio of which was estimated at €495 million in May 2009, also announced on June 23nd that it plans to issue new shares in the number of 267.8 million priced at £0.75 per share (the figure represents an 8.5% decrease on the closing price per share of £0.82 pence on the 22nd of June). Hansteen Holdings said that 89.3 million of the newly issued shares have already been conditionally placed by KBC Peel Hunt; the remaining 178.4 million shares will be sold on the open market on condition that investors will be allowed to purchase one new share per one existing share. The representative of the Hansteen Property Group, which holds a property portfolio of 942,000 square-metres across Germany, France, Belgium and Netherlands, is determined that the year of 2009 represents a great opportunity for the company to come back on the UK market of commercial property. Morgan Jones, who takes the post of joint chief executive at Hansteen, added that as the UK commercial property market is currently experiencing a “considerable distress”, the Property Group will be able to purchase commercial properties in the UK at low prices, which will in its turn lead to significant yields.