RNS Number : 7331B
West Pioneer Properties Limited
02 November 2009
Press Release 2 November 2009
West Pioneer Properties Limited
("West Pioneer" or "the Company")
AGM Statement
West Pioneer (AIM:WPR), a leading developer and operator of shopping malls in west and southern India, will hold its Annual General Meeting ("AGM") at 3pm today at Harrow Hotel, 12-22 Pinner Road, Harrow, Middlesex HA1 4HZ. At the AGM the following statement from the Chairman of West Pioneer, Amit Jatia, will be read out:
"The Indian retail sector, which was impacted by the global slowdown, is now showing signs of recovery, with expansion plans of many of the larger players being revived. This is reflected in the fact that leasing in our Metro Junction mall in Kalyan is now at 65%. up from 52% in May 2009. The total area leased is now 328,686 sq ft., which means that except for the first floor, all three remaining floors have been substantially leased out. As previously announced, the Multiplex commenced operations on 3 July and the Foodcourt and Children's entertainment zone became operational on 15 September. Besides this, there are currently 16 operational kiosks throughout the Mall. The Board remains confident that the mall will be substantially leased by March 2010".
"There has been a positive impact on both footfalls and tenant sales. Footfalls for the period from June to September have shown a year-on-year increase of 30%, whilst 2 wheeler and 4 wheeler traffic has increased by 31% and 18% respectively. This indicates that Metro Junction is not only attracting more people but also a more affluent class of customer. All our retailers have reported increased sales over the same period".
"Our marketing efforts to promote the Mall continue, not only through the media but also through local events in the Mall which are conducted over the weekends. These have contributed immensely in drawing high quality footfalls to the Mall".
"We have had a very good response to the residential project at Kalyan with 73% of the apartments in Tower A having been pre-sold. Additionally, we have just started marketing the first 80 apartments in Tower B and to date 8 apartments have been sold in this tower. Each tower will be 23 storeys with 178 apartments, each apartment being approximately 1050 sq ft. The sales and ancillary staff required have been recruited and building permissions have been obtained. Ground break is scheduled for December 2009.
Our development plan for Nashik has now been updated and will comprise a 300,000 sq ft shopping centre and a 200 room 3/4 star hotel which will be managed by the Intercontinental Hotels Group ("IHG"). Additionally, the feasibility of a residential project is also being studied. The current plan is to build the shopping centre in two phases - phase 1 consisting of one anchor, a food court and the multiplex with an area of about 100,000 sq ft. The agreement with IHG for the Hotel is already in place and discussions with them regarding design are in progress. Permissions for the retail and hotel projects are also in progress.
The development in Aurangabad will follow Nashik. The Aurangabad development is also expected to be a mixed use development - 300,000 sq ft mall and a 200 room 3/4 star hotel".
The Company expects to announce its Interim Results for the half year ended 30 September 2009 on Monday 7 December 2009.
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For further information:
Evolution Securities
Jeremy Ellis / Chris Clarke Tel: +44 (0) 20 7071 4300
Media enquiries:
Abchurch Communications
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george.parker@abchurch-group.com www.abchurch-group.com
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