Equest Balkan Properties Share Discussion Threads

[alansmith23] 15/9/2006 12:07

have been tempted in here, forecast 7.5p dividend and rising eastern european property markets finally convinced me this should be quite a safe haven. Also the spate of foreign property programmes on tv might increase interest in the sector. I also suspect there might be a full Investors Chronicle tip at some point.

Not too racy, but am satisfied with steady growth and decent divi payouts at the moment.

[lbo] 16/2/2006 18:38

Equest Targets Higher Yields in Southeast Europe
January 12, 2006
By Marshall Taylor, European Correspondent

Petri Karjalainen

Equest Balkan Properties plc. closed this week on its first two acquisitions in the Balkan region: the Serdika Hotel in Sofia, Bulgaria for €10 million ($12 million U.S.), with an anticipated yield around 9 percent after renovations; and an office building with a 9.2 percent cap rate for €4.75 million ($5.7 million U.S.) in Bucharest, Romania. Equest in December raised GBP140 million ($245 million) in an initial public offering in London and plans to fully invest the funds in the Balkans within 12 months.

"I call it 'early mover advantage'--locking in the higher yields in the new European Union accession countries," Petri Karjalainen (pictured), managing partner of Equest Partners Ltd. of London told CPN. Bulgaria and Romania are scheduled to join the European Union next year. "We're positioning ourselves with prime properties in prime locations in the Balkans," he continued. "We'll realize property appreciation gains from the expected cap rate compression in Bulgaria and Romania as they get closer to accession. Timing is of the essence."

Equest Partners is the investment advisor to Equest Balkan Properties and has already invested €100 million ($120 million U.S.) in the region. Karjalainen said that the shares of the investment company have a targeted yield of 7.5 percent after all the proceeds are invested, which should increase to 10 percent over time. He added that there are 14 property deals in the pipeline, some with exclusivity arrangements. "We're looking at the first property investments in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina," he noted. Properties in Albania, Croatia, FYR Macedonia and Turkey also are on the radar screen.

Equest plans to upgrade the 131-room Serdika Hotel in Sofia, which currently has three stars, and bring in a new hotel operator in 2006. The Bucharest office building is fully let.

[lbo] 16/2/2006 18:37

Equest Balkan Properties buys Serdika hotel for 10 million euro
Jan 9, 2006 - Dnevnik

Equest Balkan Properties, the property investment company focused on commercial, retail and industrial property in South Eastern Europe and primarily Bulgaria and Romania, was quoted by the London Stock Exchange (LSE) as saying on January 7, that it has bought the Serdika Hotel in Sofia.

The purchase price, payable in cash, is approximately 10 million euro, including transaction costs, said the LSE.

The Serdika, previously owned by insurer Allianz Bulgaria, is currently operated as a 3 star hotel with 131 rooms in a prime location in the city centre, said the LSE.

Equest has entered into initial negotiations with 3 major international hotel chains to manage the Serdika after the current lease with a local hotel operator expires in May 2006, said Equest managing director Georgi Krumov. He withheld the name of the potential partners over confidentiality reasons but said the manager will be picked by the end of March.

The fund intends to refurbish the Serdika hotel and the adjacent Sofia Film movie theater, adding shops and office premises. Equest expects to generate an annual return of 10% from the lease of the commercial outlets on the property, said Krumov.

Equest was admitted for trading on the AIM segment of the LSE in 2005, having raised 140 million pounds to invest in the target region.

Equest said in mid October 2005 it planned to invest via its subsidiary Immofinance a total of 30 million euro in a holiday village in Sofia's upscale neighborhood Boyana and in a spa complex in the village of Banya, close to popular ski resort Bansko.

The company is also building a luxury residential community, Embassy Suites, near the Bulgarian capital.

[lbo] 16/2/2006 18:32

Shares in Equest Balkan Properties joined the junior market after a placing of 140 million shares at 100p. The company, which invests in property in Bulgaria and Romania, started life at 1051/2p before settling at 104p.