ESTAVIS AG / Development of Sales 26.01.2009 Release of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Number of units retailed during the 2007/2008 FY already matched to 75% Board reconfirms sales target of 1,000+ apartments retailed Berlin, January 26, 2009 During the first semester of the 2008/2009 financial year, Estavis retailed 644 apartments to private equity investors. This translates into a total sales volume of approximately 55 million Euros. It also means that Estavis already matched the total number of 857 apartments retailed during the 2007/2008 financial year to roughly 75% in the first six months of the ongoing financial year. At 356 units retailed, sales during Q2 were up by 24% compared to the previous quarter (Q1 2008/2009: 288 units). This track record makes Estavis one of Germanys leading providers in apartment trading. 'We are quite confident that we will manage to retail more than 1,000 apartments to private investors in the current financial year,' said Rainer Schorr, CEO of Estavis AG as he confirmed the forecast issued at the start of Q1 2008/2009. The results demonstrate that setting up the apartment division created a strategically sound and valuable element of expansion into new business areas. The differentiation of its business model makes Estavis less dependent on fluctuations on the real estate market or in specific market segments. Even before the onset of the financial crisis, the company began to establish the relatively crisis-resistant division of apartment sales. As part of the process, Estavis acquired majority interests in the HAG/CWI Group in March 2007 and shortly thereafter, in October 2007 a 100 percent stake in the B&V Group. In July 2008, two leading sales organisations were moreover contracted on an exclusive basis, enhancing the sales capacities in a sustainable manner. 'Despite the ongoing financial crisis and the progressing economic slowdown, apartment sales to private equity investors have maintained a relatively high level,' said Schorr. He added that he is unaware of any credit crunch in the private client business. Only individuals of low net worth were said to experience difficulties in obtaining real estate financing. 'Prospective buyers of apartments with a taxable income of more than 50,000 Euros remain unaffected by this,' Schorr went on to say. This clientele, he argued, have the kind of credit standing that will easily get them a loan if they wish to acquire and finance an apartment as capital investment. Apartment sales to private equity investors count among the few business areas in the real estate economy that have been more or less spared by the financial crisis. 'In times of crisis, you will always see a run on tangible fixed assets, and the segment began to benefit from this trend with the onset of the banking crisis. What is more, the downward tendency of mortgage interest rates makes apartments even more attractive as capital investment product. Private investors take an interest both in property as old-age provision and in listed monuments with attractive fiscal options for depreciation,' Schorr said. Contact: ESTAVIS AG - Peter Vogt - Investor & Public Relations - Tel: + 49 30 887 181 799 - E-Mail: ir@estavis.de DGAP 26.01.2009 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Language: English Issuer: ESTAVIS AG Uhlandstr. 165 10719 Berlin Deutschland Phone: +49 (0)30 - 887 181 - 0 Fax: +49 (0)30 - 887 181 - 11 E-mail: info@estavis.de Internet: http://www.estavis.de ISIN: DE000A0KFKB3 WKN: A0KFKB Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin, München, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart End of News DGAP News-Service ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
DGAP-News: Estavis Retails 644 Apartments during First Financial Semester
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