Trading Update
09 December 2003 - 12:40AM
UK Regulatory
RNS Number:9888S
Probus Estates PLC
08 December 2003
PROBUS ESTATES PLC
TRADING UPDATE
The Directors of Probus Estates PLC ("Probus", the "Company" or the "Group")
announce an update on the trading of the Group.
Can Vinyes
As previously announced, progress on the development of the Can Vinyes project
has been severely hampered by a moratorium with respect to building applications
in the Gava region of Barcelona.
Prior to its acquisition by the Company in December 2001, the land at Can Vinyes
was designated as "Article 21" land and hence designated for development.
However, in recent discussions with local planning authorities, it has become
clear to the Directors that it is highly unlikely that planning approvals for
the development of the land will be granted within an acceptable timeframe,
probably not for several years.
Due to these planning difficulties and the poor financial position of the
Company, the Directors are of the opinion that it would be in the interests of
shareholders to dispose of the land.
In the event of such a disposal, the Directors believe that the sale price would
be at a level substantially below the book value of Euro 50 million. As a
result, the Directors anticipate that there will be a significant charge to the
profit and loss account in the current financial year with respect to the value
of the land. The extent of the charge is as yet unknown and will be dependent
either on the sale price if the land is sold or on a valuation of the land by
third party valuers to be agreed by the Company's auditors.
Other assets
As a result of operational restructuring and a significant reduction in the
level of costs, the trading performance of Casino de Mallorca and related assets
has been profitable and shown a marked improvement over 2002.
Sales of units at the Santa Ponsa retail/office development have been in line
with projections at around Euro 2.5 million for the year. Units with a value of
around Euro 6 million remain to be sold in the future.
A further announcement on the progress with the Can Vinyes land will be made in
due course.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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