Silver Star Properties REIT Releases Two Podcast Interviews Highlighting Self-Storage Strategy and a Response to Allen Hartman's Most Recent Letter

HOUSTON, May 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Silver Star Properties REIT, Inc. ("Silver Star" or the "Company"), a self-managed real estate investment trust currently repositioning into the self-storage asset class, today announced the release of three important communications to shareholders: an interview with self-storage industry expert Chris Sonne, an interview with Executive Committee member Jack Tompkins, and a detailed response to Allen Hartman's letter distributed on May 24, 2025.

Self-Storage Industry Expert Discusses Strong Self Storage Market Fundamentals

In a comprehensive interview released today, Gerald W. Haddock, CEO of Silver Star, sat down with Chris Sonne, Executive Vice President at Newmark and a nationally recognized self-storage expert with over 25 years of industry experience, who provided strong validation for Silver Star's strategic pivot to self-storage. When asked about Silver Star's timing for entering the self-storage market, Sonne affirmed, "It's amazing to me that there is this aggregation opportunity in self-storage. You get the economies of scale, you get lower investment rates, higher borrowing power, all the things that you have done in other sectors is now being applied to self-storage. Large institutional capital's coming in. It is a great place to invest in money that has a great return and also is steady and less elastic."

The video of the interview with Chris Sonne is available at https://youtu.be/J8_APM_bHYc

The transcript of the interview with Chris Sonne is available on our website at: https://silverstarreit.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Podcast_Transcript_Chris_Sonne_2025_05.28.pdf

Executive Committee Member Provides Company History

The Company also released an interview with Executive Committee member Jack Tompkins, who provided shareholders with detailed background on the Company's transformation and the circumstances leading to the current strategic direction. Tompkins detailed how Allen Hartman's management practices and actions diverted funds and resources away from operations critical to the Company.

The video of the interview with Jack Tompkins is available at https://youtu.be/zSKsbPbPs7U 

The transcript of the interview with Jack Tompkins is available on our website at: https://silverstarreit.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Podcast_Transcript_Jack_Tompkins_2025.05.16.pdf

Response to Allen Hartman's Most Recent Letter

Additionally, Silver Star released a comprehensive response to Allen Hartman's most recent letter release May 24, 2025. The response provides detailed clarification on legal matters, corporate governance decisions, and the Company's commitment to maximizing shareholder value through the self-storage pivot strategy.

The Company's response addresses what it characterizes as Hartman's "deceptive misrepresentations about deferred maintenance," noting that key executives and managers agree that asset management under Hartman was "unprofessional and irresponsible" as he "refused to authorize the necessary funds to maintain the properties or to make repairs." The response details how properties averaging 40 years of age "could not be operated properly without maintenance," and that instead of proper property management, funds were used to pay dividends the Company could not afford.

The response can be found on our website at: https://silverstarreit.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/EC_Response_Hartman_Letter2025.05.24.pdf

IMPORTANT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION WILL BE FILED WITH THE SEC

The Company has filed a Preliminary Proxy Statement with the SEC on May 19, 2025 in connection with the court ordered 2025 Annual Meeting and intends to solicit votes for the Pivot Strategy adopted by the Executive Committee and such other matters as the Executive Committee, at the discretion of its Chairman, determines to consider. The definitive Proxy Statement will contain important information about Silver Star, the court ordered annual meeting and the opportunity to vote whether to execute and pivot the Company into the self-storage real estate class. Shareholders are urged to read the definitive Proxy Statement carefully when it is available.

Upon completion and filing of our definitive proxy statement, Shareholders will be able to obtain free copies of the Proxy Statement and other documents filed with the SEC by Silver Star on the SEC's website (www.sec.gov). In addition, shareholders will be able to obtain free copies of the Proxy Statement from Silver Star by following the instructions provided in the Proxy Statement.

Participants in the Solicitation

Silver Star and its directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies with respect to the 2025 Annual Meeting.  Information regarding Silver Star's directors and executive officers is contained in the definitive proxy statement to be filed with the SEC.  As of May 19, 2025, the Silver Star Executive Committee, current directors, other than Allen Hartman, and executive officers beneficially owned approximately 1,172,436 shares, or 1.74%, of Silver Star common stock.  Allen Hartman beneficially owned approximately 5,006,412 shares, or 7.43%, of Silver Star common stock.  Additional information regarding the interests of such participants will be included in the definitive proxy statement that will be filed with the SEC and available free of charge as indicated above.

Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains a number of forward-looking statements. Because such statements include a number of risks, uncertainties, and contingencies, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, and investors should not place undue reliance on any such statements. Forward-looking statements can often be identified by words such as "continues," "can," expect," "intend," "will," "anticipate," "estimate," "may," "plan," "believe" and similar expressions, and variations or negatives of these words. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Company's search for a new auditor and its hope that a new auditor can be engaged in the near future and that its annual report on Form 10-K can be completed and publicly filed; the continuation of the examination of the current operations of Southern Star; the Company's intent to consider various alternatives, including the possible sale of Southern Star, the sale of specific assets within individual DSTs and dissolution of the respective trusts, and/or the outsourcing of various aspects of Southern Star's operations; the Company's plan to update investors with respect to the status of Southern Star as appropriate; the Company's expectations and beliefs regarding the Hartman litigation; the timing and ultimate resolution of the various litigation, fight for corporate control and other matters involving Hartman; the continued execution of the Company's strategy of pivoting into the self-storage space; the Company's continual evaluation of its legacy assets in order to maximize shareholder value; the Company's policy to not dispose of any asset for less than its maximum determinable value and to maximize earnings and value; the implications to the Company of the assignment of an OTC trading symbol for its common stock; whether the Company may be subject to certain FINRA rules; any actions the Company may need to take to comply with any FINRA rules; the Company's continual evaluation of various options to provide greater shareholder liquidity, including its intention to seek listing of its common stock on a securities exchange or admission to over-the-counter trading, a public offering, a listing of the common stock on an exchange or admission to OTC trading without a public offering, and merger and/or acquisition opportunities; the Company's belief that further legal action could ensue to unwind the issuance of common shares under the Rights Plan if Hartman prevails in his efforts to set aside or invalidate the Rights Plan or to cause the dilutive issuance of additional common shares to Hartman, as well as any further action Hartman may take to prevent other Company shareholders from receiving benefits under the Rights Plan. None of the foregoing are guarantees or assurances of future outcomes or results and all are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statement. A number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this material. Forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date on which such statements were made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any such statements that may become untrue because of subsequent events. Such forward-looking statements are subject to the safe harbor protection for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

SOURCE Silver Star Properties REIT