Property market out of flavour...but 4.25 to 1.25 that is an over reaction surely!

Lancaster Gate - dubbed the Lancasters is one of their projects in London. Are property prices falling in London...

From The Sunday Times
February 17, 2008
Super-rich snap up apartments in world's most expensive residential scheme

RECESSION, what recession? The super-rich are snapping up apartments at the world's most expensive residential scheme at Londons One Hyde Park as if they were going out of fashion.

According to data released exclusively to The Sunday Times, half of the 80 apartments at the luxury scheme designed by Richard Rogers have already been contracted to be sold even though the project will not be completed until 2010. Knight Frank, one of the estate agents handling the Knightsbridge development, said sales already totalled more than 500m and the average apartment price had reached 20m.

Wealthy oil barons, Russian oligarchs and hedge-fund managers are shelling out at prices that break down to almost 6,000 per square foot for the chance to own one of the apartments. That figure is up from 4,000 per square foot in late 2006.

The sales reflect Londons status as a global city, with 39% of the buyers hailing from Russia, 25% from the Middle East, 14% from Britain and 11% from continental Europe. The highest price paid for an apartment at the scheme is rumoured to be more than 100m. The interiors are the work of Candy & Candy, the interior design company run by Nick and Christian Candy, two brothers in their early thirties who have become multi-millionaires by creating fantasy homes for people with limitless budgets.

The site will have an underground passage to the nearby Mandarin Oriental hotel, where staff will be on hand to cater to residents needs.

CPC, the Guernsey-based investment company owned by Christian Candy, has an equity stake of more than a third in One Hyde Park. The scheme is also backed by Sheikh Hamad bin Jasim Jaber al-Thani, foreign minister of the Gulf state of Qatar.

Liam Bailey, head of residential research at Knight Frank, said sales of so-called super-prime homes in London worth 10m or above had more than doubled in the three months to the end of January compared with the same period last year.

He said: It is quite extraordinary the way the super-prime market has continued to surge ahead. Sales of homes worth 1m-5m have slowed, but once you get above 5m, and certainly above 10m, they are still powering ahead.

Property Sector is indeed in the doldrums, however market cap of 25M for MNR is surely way undervalued, kifin with 29% or someone else will take these over at this bargain basement price IMHO, so looking for this to explode north.

Lancasters was over 27% sales secured - correct?

Cash was around 117M when last reported?

Surely some more rich Arabs other than Dubai Investment, must be interested in these, not only has the MKT Cap fallen from 600M to 25M but also the exchange rate makes buying in the UK approx 30% cheaper than a year ago.

they have more CASH than their Market Cap, and also property/assets that they can sell off, somebody with the buying power could just buy this company and sell it off in pieces surely for a handsome profit?

thefall think this is what you were referring to in your post 130

from property week

'Minerva HQ on market
13.02.09
Minerva is marketing its plush London West End headquarters in a bid to raise funds

The listed London developer has instructed Franc Warwick to sell 42 Wigmore Street and the neighbouring 5 Welbeck Street, in which government department the Rent Service is the tenant.

The asking price for the long leasehold of the 41,400 sq ft block is 51m a net initial yield of 5.62%.

Minerva, whose shares are trading at 17.5p, from a high of 143p in February last year, plans to lease back its 12,887 sq ft of offices at 75/sq ft. It also hopes to sell its Kensington Odeon site for potential residential development.

Jones Lang LaSalles central London market research shows that average West End rents fell by 11.6% from 107.50/sq ft to 95/sq ft in the fourth quarter of 2008. Taking incentives into account, net effective rents are 79.90/sq ft.

However, it is predicted that rents have fallen further now and are as low as 75/sq ft on the best space in Mayfair and St Jamess.

At the 28,551 sq ft 5 Welbeck Street, the Rent Service is paying at 72.10/sq ft until 2017. '

Been looking over their results for the end June 2008, so they had 110M+ in cash, nearly 550M+ in debt, finance in place with 30% debt to be paid in 2yrs+ and over 40% to be paid in 5yrs+

Total valuation for their holdings remained the same at nearly 870M (increase in Lancasters offsetting other property holdings)

870+110 - 550 = 430M would give an SP of over 250p

NAV per share quoted was around 200p.

Today, the economic climate is still dire and expected to be for 2009 and recovering in 2010 , residential and commercial property continues to suffer, major projects are not threatened by finance however tenants need to be secured to remove uncertainty. Lancasters already had 100M pre-sales secured back in June 2008.

Results are due to be released by end of next week, according to their website, just can't understand how these can be valued at below 25M Mkt Cap - expect the results to show how absurd this is. Even with valuations falling that is significantly more than their debt. Perhaps when the results are released some cash rich kings will come out of the woodwork and bid for MNR.

If valuation in 6 months has fallen to 700M and cash has halved to say 50M that would still give them a value of 200M, lets say a NAV of at least 100p, even with the market building in future uncertaintly let's dicount this another 50% that would still give an SP of 50p!

I guess I just don't understand this share lark LOL

overlooked share, will all change IMHO when results are released this week

lets not forget kirsh from sth africa recently bought up 29% of co, could be a good springboard for anyone looking to takeout MNR

MNR is one for the graveyard shares. At 12p now, things are getting worse. Debts are rising.

Loss doubles at Minerva

MoneyAM

Real estate group Minerva showed a loss after investment property revaluation movements and taxation of 186.7m for the first six months, more than double the previous figure of 90.7m.

Chairman Oliver Whitehead said, 'The real estate and financial markets have deteriorated significantly over the last six months. This has had a consequential effect on the value of our property portfolio and our results have also been impacted by the revaluation of our interest rate hedges in what is now a very low interest rate environment.'

Property revaluation produced a deficit of 20.8 per cent. The loss before tax and investment property revaluation movements was 1.6m versus 6.4m in 2007.

No dividend was declared.

Unprecedented times indeed

Mkt Cap less than 20M but have over 100M CASH

SP currently 11p but NAV of over 100p

Kirsh - swoop in and take these over.

MKT Cap of less than 12M, surely this is an over reaction. Some cash rich investor will takeover MNR and sell off the assets for a big profit, surely investors must be applying some risk/reward to a takeover approach of MNR now, what with their cash and assets IMHO.

Once everyone has bailed out and then there is interest in MNR again, should see this on the leaderboard of percentage risers, with a large mark-up.

Dream on.

Last week was 12p, now crashed another 50% to 8p.

Looks like it will crashed to 4p soon.

I wish, i read a report that highlighted bank covenent concerns due this June. I think that is leading the sp down. However im sticking with this and keeping till THE TAKEOVER!

depressing (and that's putting it mildly), can't remember the last blue day, has been just red day after red day, looking forward to a big blue day and yes talk of a takeover. 'Dreams can come true - you know you got to have them' lol

will 8p be the new support level...

5P maybe, sinking under the huge debt burden.

ok Limitless, go on then, we'll accept your 160p final offer!

Chairman sells 220k shares at 10p must be a vote of confidence!?

well so long as the sth africans are happy to hold at the prices they paid then ill stick with it. June is still a long way off, and lets face it the markets are v irrational at moment.

3 March 2009

Minerva plc
Notification of Transaction by a Director/PDMR

Pursuant to paragraph 3.1.4R(1) of the Disclosure Rules, Minerva plc (the 'Company') hereby discloses that, on 3 March 2009, the Company received written notification from Oliver Whitehead, Chairman of the Company that, on 26 February 2009, he sold 220,000 ordinary shares of 25 pence each in the capital of the Company, at a price of 10.0 pence per ordinary share.