28 April 2014
Inchcape plc
Consolidation of Singapore property portfolio
Inchcape plc ("Inchcape" or the "Company"), the leading premium automotive group, is pleased to announce that Champion Motors (1975) Pte. Ltd. (a wholly-owned Singapore subsidiary of the Company) has entered into an agreement to sell 24 Leng Kee Road, Singapore (the "Property") to Wealth Assets Pte. Ltd. for SGD 46.2 million.
Completion of the sale is conditional upon receipt of the necessary Singapore Housing and Development Board approval.
André Lacroix, Group Chief Executive of Inchcape plc, commented:
"In anticipation of a Singapore New Car market recovery in 2014 , we have modernised our flagship facility at 33 Leng Kee Road with the opening in June last year of the new Lexus Boutique and Toyota World showrooms which have set new benchmarks in customer service excellence, design and technology.
"We regularly review our property portfolio based on our disciplined capital allocation policy. Our goal is to make sure that we have the appropriate retail footprint in each of our markets to deliver superior customer service and sustainable earnings growth with an efficient use of our shareholders' funds.
"Following our recent property portfolio review in Singapore we have decided to relocate the current Body and Paint operation at 24 Leng Kee Road to our Pandan facility, where we plan to consolidate several consumer and non-consumer facing activities to increase our capacity and productivity.
"The disposal of 24 Leng Kee Road demonstrates Inchcape's disciplined capital allocation policy as it will release a significant amount of capital tied up in our current Singapore property portfolio which will be partially reinvested in the redevelopment of our Pandan facility in the next few years."
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Group Communications, Inchcape plc
+44 (0) 20 7546 0022
Investor Relations, Inchcape plc
+44 (0) 20 7546 8209
FTI Consulting (Jonathon Brill/Edward Westropp)
+44 (0) 20 3727 1000
