DDS sees opportunity in 'credit crunch'

Dawnay Day Sirius (DDS) believes that the uncertainty in the financial markets is postive for the company as the crisis is reducing the number of competitors in the property market.

DDS was established to acquire large mixed-use commercial sites for upgrading to flexible workspaces in Germany. It raised almost EUR 328 mln in a listing on the junior AIM market of London Stock Exchange in May. DDS acquired an initial portfolio of 20 sites for just over EUR 206 mln before buying another six for EUR 124.5 mln.

'Competition for acquisitions is further decreasing as there are fewer buyers of assets that require active management in the market. We continue to be highly selective on future acquisitions to ensure that the quality of the portfolio is not compromised,' chairman Dick Kingston said when introducing DDS's interim results up to end-September 2007. He noted that demand for high-quality flexible workspace remained strong.

The company's portfolio was independently valued at EUR 333 mln as of end-September, a month before it completed the purchase of Bayreuth park for EUR 10.6 mln.

DDS said that since the end of the reporting period to end-September the company had completed the purchase of another property, notarised another
one and expected to notarise a further two before the end of the calendar year. This will bring the total value of the portfolio to around EUR 371 mln, just under half of the EUR 750 mln target to be achieved within 18 months of its IPO.