18^th September 2009

 

STIRLING MORTIMER NO.8 FUND UK LAND LIMITED

 

(Incorporated in Guernsey with registered number 50300)

 

FIRST LAND PURCHASE IN MANSFIELD, NOTTINGHAMSHIRE, U.K

WITH DEVELOPERS BUY-BACK OPTION IN PLACE

 

The Board of Stirling Mortimer No 8 Fund UK Land Limited (the ‘Fund’) is delighted to announce that it has exchanged contracts on the first land transaction for the property known as White Hart Street, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, U.K.

 

The investment site is situated in the centre of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire and located close to the town centre.  The purchase price to the Fund is £2.8m which is below the external market valuation and substantially below the value a year ago.  The site extends to 0.7 ha (1.73 acres) and is surrounded by the public highways.

 

This investment has a buy-back option in place with a developer at £4.65m which is payable either when development has commenced or after three years, whichever comes soonest.  This buy-back option has been further supported by a personal guarantee from the directors of the developer whereby they will pay 10% of the option price if they fail to exercise their option prior to expiry of the three year term.

 

Mansfield is a market town with a population of circa 98,000, the smallest of all the Nottinghamshire districts.  From the mid 1990s and beyond, there has been an increasing level of inward investments in the town, the majority of which has been funded by the public sector.  The city of Nottingham is located 14 miles to the south, Chesterfield is 13 miles to the north, Derby is 23 miles to the south west and Lincoln is located 38 miles to the east.

 

The introduction of the Mansfield and Ashfield Regeneration Route (MARR), a new £30 million road between Pleasley and Rainworth has encouraged new businesses to move into the area and as a result the emerging market developers reacted by building several business parks, principally on the periphery of the town centre and including several out of town new build commercial schemes.  These are either ready for occupation or part complete and over the past couple of years have largely satisfied demand which has subsequently created an undersupply of accommodation.

 

Chairman’s Statement

Catharine Walter, Chairman, said, “In light of the favourable terms surrounding this land purchase the Board foresees this as a great investment opportunity for the Fund.  We have a healthy pipeline of transactions and expect further announcements of additional property purchases.”

 

 

For further information, please contact:

 

Phil Bowman                        +44 (0)1242 251087

Director

 

Tim Clink                             +44 (0)1242 251087

Director

 

Nathalie Pike                        +44 (0)1481 716000

Heritage International Fund Managers Limited

Administrator