At their new property investment business that is an anagrammatical and geographical reworking of their previous AIM project, Ashtenne, Morgan Jones and Ian Watson have published evidence of a profitable first half-year.

Like at Ashtenne, which achieved annual returns above 20 per cent over the 15 years prior to its £169.7m sale in March 2005, Jones and Watson pour their funds into industrial and logistical properties. But unlike their erstwhile enterprise, and because the deal prevented them from dealing in UK property, Hansteen is now focused on Europe. This seems to be even more profitable, as Jones explains: ‘Investing in UK property is very hot and very expensive, yields are quite low, but western Europe is five-to-ten years behind.’

For the six months to June, Hansteen made a £2.8m million pre-tax profit, recouping a net yield of around 8% on the £100m invested in properties in the Netherlands, France and Germany. Almost two thirds of this is in Dutch assets, but Jones says prices have risen there in the last six months, meaning Germany ‘probably provides more opportunities’. The large German market is well balanced, with willing buyers and sellers (‘unlike the UK and France’), asserts Jones.

With the £123.6m equity raised at float now invested, the company has arranged a €230m (£157m) revolving loan facility, which Jones envisages investing ‘over the next 12-15 months’. On the day of the results, it completed the purchase of three new investments in Germany and the Netherlands for the equivalent of £16.2m.

House broker KBC forecasts NAV rising to 107p by the full year and to 120p by 2007. Hansteen is valued at above its 101p NAV per share but has more than double that to invest in what is a buoyant market. A revaluation will be included in the full year figures. Buy.

Hansteen Holdings	AIM	£120.44m	67.50p	0.00p
Click here for interactive charting
Other company articles:
Directors’ Dealings by Kathleen Hall			03/11/2008
Hansteen			11/04/2008
Directors’ dealings by Andrew Hore			07/02/2008
How to play the AIM property boom			02/07/2007
Hansteen in £70m placing			28/02/2007