| A A A15 May 2006
Blackrock International Land plc is pleased to announce that it has been admitted to trading and that dealings in its ordinary shares will commence today on the IEX market of Irish Stock Exchange and the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.
Commenting on the admission, Carl McCann, executive chairman of Blackrock said:
"We are very excited at today's launch of Blackrock on the IEX and AIM markets. The company's opening portfolio offers significant scope to add value for shareholders and its strong balance sheet will allow it to pursue attractive opportunities as they arise."
About Blackrock
Blackrock is an Irish registered company that was incorporated for the purposes of effecting a demerger by Fyffes plc of its property undertaking. At an extraordinary general meeting held on 9 May 2006, Fyffes shareholders adopted the resolutions required to implement the demerger and also approved a subscription by Fyffes for 40% of Blackrock.
Blackrock's initial property portfolio is made up of 30 properties, 29 of which are wholly owned by the company and its subsidiaries with a market value of approximately €195 million and one property held in 3 joint venture companies with a net investment value of approximately €2 million. The property portfolio comprises industrial and commercial land and buildings in Ireland and the UK. At admission, Blackrock's net assets amount to approximately €207 million, comprising its property portfolio plus net cash of €20 million and deferred tax and other liabilities of approximately €10 million. This equates to a net asset value of 35.5c per ordinary share.
Business strategy
The principal objective of Blackrock is to use its existing asset base to build a substantial international property business with a focus on identifying development opportunities and making appropriate additions to its property portfolio. The directors will seek to create value for shareholders through active and entrepreneurial management of this portfolio, risk controlled development of existing and acquired properties and opportunistic acquisitions of strategic land holdings and property investments. Blackrock plans to maintain and develop a portfolio of properties with the potential for long-term rental and/or capital growth. Proceeds from development activities and property disposals will be reinvested in new opportunities or otherwise employed to enhance shareholder value.
The company intends to focus on strategic investment and development opportunities in the commercial, retail, industrial and residential sectors of the property market. Targeted opportunities may include investment in strategic land holdings close to population centres, brown field sites with a view to value enhancement and vacant buildings which may benefit from subdivision, refurbishment or redevelopment for alternative uses.
The company also intends to invest in leased properties in prime locations which are nearing the end of their lease terms and which could benefit from active management or refurbishment and in high quality, well let investment properties which show good potential for rental growth and enhanced capital value. It also intends to seek opportunities to acquire investment portfolios with a view to the creation of additional value by active management, possible sale of individual properties from the portfolio and retention of prime properties which show the potential for value growth.
Blackrock's initial focus will be on opportunities in locations where it already has a good network of contacts and experience. As the company grows, the directors expect that Blackrock will be able to expand its reach from Ireland and the UK to opportunities in new geographical areas.
The directors plan to achieve these objectives by taking advantage of their significant collective experience and by continuing to develop and expand relationships and contacts with other industry participants so that the company may be aware of opportunities as they arise. The directors intend to leverage Blackrock's strong asset base to access funding requirements for new opportunities and to take advantage of the Company's tight management structure to enable quick decision making, particularly for opportunistic situations where speed of action can give a competitive advantage.
For further information
Further information on Blackrock is contained in its Admission Document dated 12 May 2006. Terms defined in the Admission Document have the same meaning in this announcement. Copies of the document are available to the public, free of charge, at the offices of Arthur Cox, Earlsfort Centre, Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2, Ireland and the offices of Arthur Cox, 29 Ludgate Hill, London EC4M 7JE, United Kingdom, for a period of one month from admission. Copies of the document will also be available on the company's website, www.bilplc.com, from the date of admission.
Blackrock International Land plc
15 May 2006
Contacts
Brian Bell, Wilson Hartnell PR
Tel: +353-1-669 0030
Ivan Murphy / Anthony Farrell, Davy
Tel: +353 1 679 6363
