Thursday 6 September 2007

Listed diversified property group Devine Limited (ASX: DVN) has acquired a 25 hectare residential housing site at Holmview near Beenleigh, south of Brisbane, for $20 million.

The site - Alberi Park Estate - is located on the corner of Teys and Tallangara Roads at Holmview, three kilometres west of the Beenleigh Town Centre and 31 kilometres south-east of Brisbane.

The Alberi Park Estate has Development Approval for 308 housing lots, of which 52 have already been developed in Stage 1. Operational works for the balance of Stage 1, comprising 58 lots, have been issued.

Devine's acquisition of Alberi Park Estate provides it with ownership of a total of 256 undeveloped housing lots, with a forecast completed total value of $100 million. The estate is expected to take three years to complete.

Devine founder and Managing Director David Devine said the purchase of the Alberi Park Estate provided the company with prime house and land stock in the high growth Brisbane to Gold Coast corridor.

"The attraction of this site is that house and land packages and land products can be brought to market very quickly at a time when there is strong demand for residential stock in this region," he said. "The project will contribute to our revenue in the current fiscal year.

"Alberi Park Estate is also extremely well positioned in terms of population growth and existing infrastructure. Holmview and Beenleigh are located at the far northern end of Gold Coast City, an area that has grown at an average rate of 1,134 people per year over the past decade.

"This northern region is expected to cater for much of the future population growth of the Gold Coast," Mr Devine said.

"Projections by the Queensland Department of Local Government and Planning indicate the population of the Gold Coast will grow from its current level of just below 500,000 people to between 552,850 and 577,300 people by 2011."

Beenleigh and its adjoining suburbs are well serviced by road and rail infrastructure, including the Holmview Railway Station which provides frequent services to the Brisbane CBD (journey time 57 minutes) and the Gold Coast (40 minutes).

Devine plans to build its new prestige range of family homes on approximately 50 per cent of the lots at Alberi Park Estate, with the balance to be marketed as land only to other builders.

Land prices will range from $170,000 to $250,000, with house and land packages from $330,000 to $450,000.

During 2006-07 Devine increased its national land bank by 51 per cent to total 4,580 lots as at 30 June 2007.

Mr Devine said the company was on track to achieve its target of building a national land bank of more than 10,000 blocks, under the brand Devine Communities, by mid-2010.

Devine Queensland State Acquisition Manager Jason Northwood said the purchase of Alberi Park Estate was in line with Devine's strategy of securing new opportunities at varying stages of the approval process to best fit the company's development pipeline.

He said the acquisition also represented a further strategic expansion of Devine's presence within the northern Gold Coast region.

Devine's most recent purchase in the Brisbane Gold Coast corridor was on 31 May when it acquired 27.5 hectares at Willow Vale in Pimpana, just north of Coomera. Devine acquired this Pimpana land for $23.5 million in a structured terms arrangement over two years and is seeking development approval for 385 lots.

"The northern end of the Gold Coast is a high-growth region and we are very active in the area, with five estates now underway," he said.

"We will continue to seek new large-scale broadhectare development opportunities suitable for integrated communities throughout Queensland."

Devine Communities' projects include generous landscaping and well considered public space amenities such as parks, cycle ways and playgrounds, with some larger projects also including lakes and retail convenience shopping, cafes and child care centres.

On 29 August Devine announced an after tax profit of $21.367 million for the 2006-07 year, 13.2 per cent up on the previous year's result.

Devine has been acquisitive along Australia's eastern seaboard and on 31 August 2007 announced the purchase of a 62-hectare prime subdivision site at Tarneit, south west of Melbourne for $36.85 million.

Released by: Devine, 3 Westmoreland Blvd, Springwood, Queensland 4127
Contacts: David Devine, Managing Director, Devine Limited on (07) 3233 1402
Kathy Mac Dermott, Rowland on (07) 3229 4499 or 0448 844 508