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Hightex Group plc ('Hightex') 

Completion of innovative roof and facade contract for the Dolce Vita Tejo shopping mall in Lisbon, Portugal. 

12 May 2009

Hightex is pleased to announce that, together with its consortium partner Martifer Group (the Portuguese steel construction company), their work to provide the entire steel structure, ETFE cushion roof and facade for the Dolce Vita Tejo shopping mall situated in Lisbon, Portugal for Chamartín Imobiliária in partnership with ING Real Estate, has been successfully completed. 

The Dolce Vita Tejo shopping mall in Lisbon, Portugal, one of the largest shopping malls in Europe, opened its doors to the public on 7 May 2009. Totaling 122,000 square metres of gross rentable area, this is the largest shopping mall in Portugal and one of the largest in Europe. Hightex designed, fabricated and installed 346 cushion elements with an average size of 10 x 10 metres. There are several cushion types with multiple layers and various combinations of transparent and opaque foil. In addition, 108 facade cushions were installed. In total more than 200,000 square metres of different ETFE membranes were produced in order to execute this outstanding project.

The total contract value was approximately EUR 9.5 million, an increase of approximately EUR 1.0  million  above the original contract value (announced in May 2008). Approximately EUR 2.7 million arose in 2009, with the balance in 2008.

The Dolce Vita Tejo shopping mall is the first in the world to use a new and innovative ETFE roof design. The benefits of ETFE cushions are finding an increasing range of applications in modern building design. The design used for Dolce Vita allows ETFE to compete with glass in thermal performance, through the use of high performance Selective Filters and Low-Emissivity ('Low-E') coatings applied to the cushion system. Emissivity is a measure of how much a glass or other surfaces transfers radiant heat.  

The Selective Filter is a coating which represents a pioneering use of the ETFE membrane: it allows light but restricts the amount of heat entering a building. The second feature, a Low-E coating, serves to prevent the roof, when it gets hot, radiating heat into the building. The benefits of both coatings reduce significantly the energy costs of cooling the structure.

Using the cushion roof forming 'windows' within their three dimensional form, whilst at the same time rejecting or filtering light and energy using selective filters and Low-E coatings, the design is a 21st century innovative illustration of the 'northern light' principle, allowing light mainly to enter the building from the north thus eliminating unwanted direct heat build-up and glare.  In this way the design achieves a feeling within the building of being outside, but at much more comfortable temperatures. 

Charles DesForges, Chairman, stated that 'Hightex is delighted that it had the opportunity to execute such a prestigious project and to introduce this cutting-edge ETFE membrane technology. The two key innovative features, the Selective Filter and Low-E coating, added to the basic ETFE membrane offer exciting opportunities for further use of this innovative approach to architecture using coated ETFE membrane'.

Enquiries: 

Charles DesForges, Chairman, Hightex Group plc     +44 (0) 20 7603 1515 

Singer Capital Markets

Jeff Keating                                                            +44 (0) 20 3205 7500

About Hightex

Hightex has a long history of building large span roofs and facades using architectural membranes, exemplified by the Abuja Stadium for the All African Games in 2003 as well as the Berlin Stadium, Germany, used for the most recent FIFA World Cup Final in 2006. In 2006 Hightex completed one of the largest membrane projects in the world, designing and constructing the energy-saving, sound-optimised, triple layer membrane roof for the Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand.

Hightex recently completed its work on the membrane element of the new retractable roof over the Centre Court at the All England Club, Wimbledon. 

In a few weeks Hightex will finalise the membrane roof/facade as part of the upgrading of the First National Bank (FNB) Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, which will be the stadium for several first and second round matches, one quarter-final and the final match at the FIFA 2010 Football World Cup. In addition Hightex was awarded the complete membrane facade for the new Green Point Stadium in Cape Town also for the World Cup 2010.

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