Following the announcement in May 2005 that heads of terms had been agreed, Torotrak plc (‘Torotrak’) is pleased to announce legal completion of the sale of its freehold land and buildings to the Ashtenne Industrial Fund (‘Ashtenne’). The proceeds of the sale of £3,500,000 were received by Torotrak on 9 November 2005 and, as previously reported, will be used by Torotrak to invest in the further development of our technology.
At the same time Torotrak has entered into a lease on the building with Ashtenne on a normal commercial basis for a 20-year term at an open market rental of £280,000. The rental expense is expected to be offset by other planned savings and overall no increase in costs is expected as a result of this transaction.
Rebecca Joyce, Finance Director, Torotrak plc said:
“ This agreement with Ashtenne reinforces our policy of sound financial management of the assets of our business. The proceeds, together with the increasing trend in revenues and the recently announced reduction in the company’s cost base, strengthen both our short and long term cash positions towards one of our primary business objectives of attaining a cash neutral position.”
Notes to editors:
Torotrak
Torotrak is the world leader in the design and development of traction drive Infinitely Variable Transmission (IVT) systems with competitive benefits for the automotive, off-highway and Outdoor Power Equipment industries. In automotive, IVT offers significant improvements in fuel economy, performance and smoothness combined with innovative driving control features. In off-highway, IVT offers a cost effective and mechanically efficient technology that can be used across product ranges. Torotrak's principal commercial strategy is to generate royalty income from high-volume manufacture of IVT technology by our licensed customers.
Ashtenne
The Ashtenne Industrial Fund was established in July 2001. The Fund invests into industrial properties principally in the Midlands, North, Wales and Scotland.
The Fund is jointly managed by Morley Fund Management and Ashtenne. Morley Fund Management is the UK institutional asset management business of Aviva, the worlds sixth largest insurer. Ashtenne is owned by Warner Estate Holdings plc, one of the leading industrial asset managers in the UK.
