Peninsula HQ on track to help DevSec cashflow
Development Securities is on schedule to complete the new office for the Done brothers' Peninsula Insurance Services at City Park in Manchester's Green Quarter.
The developer said, in an interim management statement for the period 1 July to 17 November 2008, that the 147,000 sq ft building would complete towards the end of 2009.
The deal to pre-sell the building to Peninsula for £53m was completed in October 2007. Peninsula will relocate from Bruntwood's Riverside on New Bailey Street to the new building, to be called The Peninsula, in 2010 and occupy seven out of 12 storeys. The law consultancy owned by Fred and Peter Done, better known for their eponymous chain of bookmakers, employs 750 people and published turnover of £56m in 2006/07.
DevSec said "89% of our borrowings mature in 2013 and beyond. £10.3m of debt becomes repayable upon completion of the pre-sold development at City Park, Manchester, with the remaining £6.5m falling due in 2009 and 2010."
Overall net debt currently stands at £83.9m, equivalent to 39% of net worth at 30 June 2008.
David Jenkins, chairman, said: "Despite increasingly difficult market conditions, the company has positioned itself defensively through prudent management of its balance sheet and maintaining liquidity through its partnership approach to funding its active, large-scale development projects. As a result, the company hopes to selectively target opportunities that will arise out of this market turmoil, whilst also having regard to protecting shareholder interests in the short to medium term."
