INVESTMENT GRADE RATING & £195 MILLION LOAN NOTES

RNS Number : 9406J

Triple Point Social Housing REIT

27 August 2021

 

27 August 2021

Triple Point Social Housing REIT plc

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

INVESTMENT GRADE CREDIT RATING 'A-' AND SUSTAINABILITY-LINKED FIXED RATE LOAN NOTES OF £195 MILLION

The Board of Triple Point Social Housing REIT plc (ticker: SOHO) is pleased to announce the following updates:

· The Group has put in place £195 million of long dated, fixed rate, interest only sustainability-linked loan notes through a private placement with MetLife Investment Management clients and Barings (the " Loan Notes ") respectively. The Loan Notes have a weighted average term of 13 years and a weighted average fixed rate coupon of 2.634%. The Loan Notes will enable the Group to refinance its existing floating rate Revolving Credit Facility (the " RCF ").

· Fitch Ratings Limited (" Fitch ") has assigned the Company an Investment Grade Long-Term Issuer Default Rating of  'A-' with a stable outlook, and a senior secured rating of 'A' for the Group's new Loan Notes.

Investment Grade Rating

Fitch's credit rating report highlights a number of favourable attributes of the Company and the specialised supported housing sub-sector within which the Company operates. These include:

·     Community-based accomodation "is typically cheaper and more successful" than institutional alternatives, such as inpatient hospitals.

·     Long-dated fully repairing and insuring leases with upward-only rent reviews, with the maintainance obligations residing with the lessee.

·   A low debt-to-equity ratio with debt/EBITDA around 7.5-8.0x and a cost base that should benefit from economies of scale.

Fixed Rate Loan Notes of £195 million and Refinancing of Revolving Credit Facility

The new Loan Notes are secured against a portfolio of specialised supported living properties located throughout the UK and worth approximately £390 million, representing a Day-1 loan to value (" LTV ") of 50%. The amounts drawn down under the new Loan Notes are segregated and non-recourse to the Company. Fitch assigned a senior secured rating of 'A' to the Loan Notes.

The Loan Notes are split into two tranches:

· Tranche-A: £77.5 million with a 10-year term priced at an all-in coupon of 2.403%;

· Tranche-B:  £117.5 million with a 15-year term priced at an all-in coupon of 2.786%

The Loan Notes are the first debt instruments issued by the Company that are linked to sustainability targets agreed with the lenders.

The loan proceeds of £195 million have enabled the Group to refinance the full £130 million drawn under its existing £160 million RCF (provided by Lloyds and NatWest). The additional £65 million will be used to acquire more income producing, specialised supported housing properties from the Group's pipeline which is in excess of £150 million.

Whilst currently undrawn, the RCF will remain in place until December 2023 when it expires. The facility can be drawn at a LTV of 40% and has a margin in respect of drawn amounts of 1.85% per annum over SONIA. For undrawn debt under the RCF, the Group pays a commitment fee of 40% of the margin.

The refinancing will temporarily increase the Group's consolidated LTV to c.38% (from c.32% as at 31 December 2020) which is below the Group's stated target of 40% and well below the Group's limit of 50%.

Annette Bannister, Head of European Infrastructure and Project Finance at MetLife Investment Management, said:

"We are delighted to have entered into our second debt funding with the Group. We value the Group's continued effort to invest into social housing in the UK, with a particular focus on specialised supported housing for vulnerable people with care and support needs. This financing underscores MetLife Investment Management's global commitment to sustainability on behalf of our clients. We are truly excited to engage in projects that make a real difference to peoples' lives in communities around the world."

Amelia Henning, Managing Director Global Infrastructure Debt at Barings LLC, added:

"We are pleased to have joined MetLife Investment Management as a new lender to the Group through the sustainability-linked financing, providing our continued support for the UK social housing sector. We are looking forward to working closely with the Group to support its ambitious growth programme in the years to come."

Chris Phillips, Chairman of Triple Point Social Housing REIT plc, commented:

"We are very pleased to have secured a premium investment grade rating from Fitch. This positive endorsement will enable the Company to pursue a broader strategy in relation to debt funding and the Group's new long term, attractively priced, fixed rate loan notes are reflective of this. We were delighted to be working with Metlife Investment Management again and Barings for the first time."

Gowling WLG acted as legal adviser to the Group.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE COMPANY, PLEASE CONTACT:

Triple Point Investment Management LLP   (Investment Manager)	Tel: [phone]
Max Shenkman
Freddie Cowper-Coles
Isobel Gunn-Brown
Akur Capital (Joint Financial Adviser)	Tel: [phone]
Tom Frost
Anthony Richardson
Siobhan Sergeant
Stifel (Joint Financial Adviser and Corporate Broker)	Tel: [phone]
Mark Young
Mark Bloomfield
Rajpal Padam

The Company's LEI is 213800BERVBS2HFTBC58.

Further information on the Company can be found on its website at www.triplepointreit.com .

NOTES:

The Company invests in primarily newly developed social housing assets in the UK, with a particular focus on supported housing. The assets within the portfolio are subject to inflation-adjusted, long-term (typically from 20 years to 30 years), Fully Repairing and Insuring ("FRI") leases with Approved Providers (being Housing Associations, Local Authorities or other regulated organisations in receipt of direct payment from local government). The portfolio comprises investments into properties which are already subject to an FRI lease with an Approved Provider, as well as forward funding of pre-let developments but does not include any direct development or speculative development.

There is increasing political and financial pressure on Housing Associations to increase their housing delivery and this is creating opportunities for private sector investors to participate in the market. The Group's ability to provide forward financing for new developments not only enables the Company to secure fit for purpose, modern assets for its portfolio but also addresses the chronic undersupply of suitable supported housing properties in the UK at sustainable rents as well as delivering returns to investors.

The Company was admitted to trading on the Specialist Fund Segment of the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange on 8 August 2017 and was admitted to the premium segment of the Official List of the Financial Conduct Authority and migrated to trading on the premium segment of the Main Market on 27 March 2018. The Company operates as a UK Real Estate Investment Trust ("REIT") and is a constituent of the FTSE EPRA/NAREIT index.

 

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