Diligentia improves portfolio sells residential properties and invests in offices

Diligentia improves portfolio - sells residential properties and invests in offices Diligentia has acquired an office building in Gothenburg for SEK 224 million and signed a letter of intent to acquire an office building in Copenhagen and sell ten properties in Lund, Borås and Ljungby, the majority of them residential. The purchase price for the latter transaction amounts to SEK 226.5 million and the total sales price is DKK 238 million, representing a preliminary capital gain of SEK 25 million. Property exchange with Mandamus valued at approximately SEK 500 million, new property manager appointed in Copenhagen Diligentia has signed a letter of intent on a property exchange with Mandamus whereby Diligentia will sell ten properties and acquire an office building in Copenhagen. The transaction comprises all of Diligentia's properties in Lund and Ljungby and all its residential properties in Borås. In total, the 56,000 square meters contain mostly 595 apartments. The total sales price of SEK 238 million represents a preliminary capital gain of SEK 25 million. The Copenhagen property, Copenhagen Europe Center, is situated in the downtown Vesterbro section of the city. The purchase price is DKK 226.5 million. Included are 14 partly attached buildings with a total lettable area of approximately 20,000 sq.m., of which 16,000 sq.m. are offices, 3,000 sq.m. an office hotel and 1,000 sq.m. conference facilities. The buildings are in good condition and in large part were renovated during the latter part of the 1990's. The largest tenants are IBM/Parkegaard, Enator, Ferring, BGC Revision and Carli Gry Scandinavia A/S. In addition, Diligentia has employed Henrik Jensen to manage the operations in Copenhagen. Henrik Jensen is currently the head of Mandamus's operations in Denmark and in that capacity has responsibility for Copenhagen Europe Center. Diligentia has also employed the rest of Mandamus' staff in Denmark which includes seven people. "The property exchange further strengthens our position in Copenhagen. After taking over Copenhagen Europe Center, the property portfolio will comprise eight properties with a combined area of approximately 80,000 sq.m and a book value slightly over DKK 750 million," says Anders Jarl, Managing Director of Diligentia Syd AB. Acquisition of Skandia's office building in Gothenburg for SEK 224 million Diligentia has acquired Försäkrings AB Skandia's office building in Gothenburg. The property, with a lettable area of approximately 20,000 sq.m., of which 3,000 sq.m. is garage space, is located centrally on Sten Sturegatan in Heden, Gothenburg. Skandia is the only tenant. The property has been acquired for SEK 224 million and has a yield of 7 percent. "The acquisition increases our presence and concentration in our prioritised market Central Gothenburg," says Bengt Warbo, Managing Director of Diligentia West AB. "The property, which is well-maintained, complements our current portfolio very well. It also makes Skandia an important customer, and I hope we can further develop the cooperation. Moreover, Skandia is a major shareholder in Diligentia." Properties acquired Address Area, Seller Closing Copenhagen Europe 25,877 Mandam Dec. 1, Sten Sturegatan 12- 19,921 Skandi Oct. 22, Properties sold Name City Type of property Area, sq.m. Budkaveln 2 Borås Multi-family housing 5,114 Budkaveln 4 Borås Multi-family housing 2,474 Carolus 5 & 6 Borås Multi-family housing 1,891 Solglittret 1 Lund Multi-family housing 16,108 Solskenet 1 Lund Multi-family housing 17,830 Företaget 10 Lund Office 910 Nordanvinden 3 Lund Office 3,826 Vindilen 3 Lund Industry and warehouse 127 Torg 1:132 Ljungby Office 745 Solrosen 3 Ljungby Industry and warehouse 7,479 Diligentia is one of Sweden's largest real estate companies. The book value of the Group's Swedish property assets amounted to SEK 10,345 million on June 30, 1999. The book value of its international properties was SEK 861 million. Diligentia's overall strategy is to concentrate its operations on select market sectors in Stockholm, Gothenburg and the Öresund region. Diligentia is listed on the A-list of the Stockholm Stock Exchange. Stockholm, October 28, 1999 For further information, please contact: Mats Cederholm, Managing Director and CEO, Diligentia AB telephone: +46-8-5875 8110, +46-70-426 8110, e-post: mats.cederholm@diligentia.se Bengt Warbo, Managing Director, Diligentia West telephone: +46-31-725 83 25, +46-70-426 83 25, e-post: bengt.warbo@diligentia.se Anders Jarl, Managing Director, Diligentia South telephone: +46-40-690 84 11, +46-70-426 84 11, e-post: anders.jarl@diligentia.se Göran O. Westerberg, Head of Group Communications and Investor Relations telephone: +46-8-5875 8120, +46-70-426 8120, e-mail: goran.westerberg@diligentia.se www.diligentia.se e-mail: diligentia@diligentia.se ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/10/28/19991028BIT00150/bit0001.DOC http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/10/28/19991028BIT00150/bit0002.pdf