New Fixed Rate Term Loan Facility of £80million

RNS Number : 9859T

Empiric Student Property PLC

04 April 2016

 

4 April 2016

Empiric Student Property plc

("Empiric" or the "Company" or, together with its subsidiaries, the "Group")

New Fixed Rate Term Loan Facility of £80 million

The Board of Empiric Student Property plc (ticker: ESP), the owner and operator of modern, premium student accommodation across the UK, is pleased to announce that the Group has agreed a new fixed rate term loan facility (the "Facility") of £80 million arranged by Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers Europe LLP, a member of the MassMutual Financial Group.  The Facility is secured against a portfolio of 20 operating assets, held as a lending group through a wholly owned subsidiary, Empiric Investments (Four) Limited.

The Facility is available to draw down in full, subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions precedent, until 12 April 2016. It is repayable 12 years from the date of the initial draw down and has a fixed all in rate of 3.24 per cent., interest only, throughout the term.  This rate is fixed up to a loan to value ratio of 55 per cent.

The amounts drawn down under the Facility will be segregated and non-recourse to the Company.

Part of the Facility will be used to refinance £37.2 million of debt which has been repaid to Santander and Royal Bank of Scotland, with the balance of £42.8 million (before expenses) to be used to fund further acquisitions.

Following draw down of the Facility, the estimated loan to value ratio for the Company will be approximately 23.2 per cent. (31 December 2015: 20.3 per cent.).  In accordance with the Company's investment policy, the Company will maintain a conservative level of aggregate borrowings, targeting a level of 35 per cent. but no more than 40 per cent. of the gross asset value of the Company (calculated at the time of draw down).

An additional committed facility of up to £40 million is available to the Group, to be requested on or before 7 December 2016, subject to meeting certain conditions.

Strategic advice on the structure and assistance in arranging the debt was provided by J C Rathbone Associates.

Paul Hadaway, Chief Executive of Empiric Student Property plc, commented:

"This new attractive long term Facility enables the Group to reduce our overall cost of borrowing and extend our average unexpired loan term. The Facility also provides the debt resource needed to help support our growth plans and business model.  We are pleased to have formed a new relationship with Cornerstone, one of the largest global real estate investment managers and debt providers, and we look forward to working with Cornerstone over the long term."

For further information on the Company, please contact:

Empiric Student Property plc	(via Newgate below)
Paul Hadaway (Chief Executive)
Tim Attlee (Chief Investment Officer)
Michael Enright (Chief Financial Officer)
Akur Limited (Joint Financial Adviser)	Tel: [phone]
Tom Frost
Anthony Richardson
Siobhan Sergeant
Jefferies International Limited (Joint Financial Adviser and Broker)	Tel: [phone]
Gary Gould
Stuart Klein
Newgate (PR Adviser)	Tel: [phone]
James Benjamin	Em: [e-mail]
Alex Shilov
Lydia Thompson

Further information on Empiric can be found on the Company's website at www.empiric.co.uk.

Notes:

Empiric Student Property plc is a leading provider and operator of modern, direct-let, premium student accommodation across the UK.  Investing in both operating and development assets, the Company focuses on quality, with assets generally in prime central locations in top university cities and towns in the UK, attracting international students and/or those studying beyond first year, in particular, postgraduates. For the 2015/16 academic year, Empiric's customer base comprises 69% international students from 98 countries. 78% of the Company's customers are students beyond their first year of study.

The Company, an internally managed real estate investment trust ("REIT") incorporated in England and Wales, listed on the premium listing segment of the Official List of the Financial Conduct Authority and was admitted to trading on the main market for listed securities of the London Stock Exchange in June 2014.

 

END

 

 

IODFMGGDGFNGVZZ