Regulatory Notice: Inclusion Housing CIC

RNS Number : 7539P

Triple Point Social Housing REIT

30 May 2018

 

30 May 2018

Triple Point Social Housing REIT plc

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

Regulatory Notice: Inclusion Housing CIC

The Board of Triple Point Social Housing REIT plc (tickers: SOHO; SOHC) notes the regulatory notice released on 29 May 2018 by the Regulator of Social Housing (the "Regulator") in relation to Inclusion Housing CIC ("Inclusion").

Registered Providers, including Housing Associations, with fewer than 1,000 social housing units under management (representing over 1,400 of the 1,716 existing Housing Associations) which then pass through the 1,000 unit threshold will be the subject of a detailed in-depth assessment ("IDA") by the Regulator within three years of passing through such threshold. The IDA assesses the Registered Provider's compliance with the requirements of the Governance and Financial Viability Standard. The outcome of an IDA results in the Regulator publishing a formal grading (V 1-4 for Viability and G 1-4 for Governance), known as a regulatory judgement. In the past, this has led to some Registered Providers receiving a "Grading Under Review" notice before the Regulator sets a formal grading.

At the time of the last Statistical Data Return (the annual survey completed by all private Registered Providers of social housing in England) in October 2017, Inclusion owned fewer than 1,000 social housing units and, therefore, did not qualify for a regulatory judgement from the Regulator. With the number of social housing properties managed by Inclusion now exceeding that 1,000 unit threshold figure, the Regulator is in the process of compiling a regulatory judgement incorporating recommendations and a formal grading, which will give Inclusion both a Viability and a Governance rating for the first time; and it is as part of that process that the regulatory notice was issued.

The Company's investment manager, Triple Point Investment Management LLP (the "Manager"), has an established relationship with Inclusion, who has kept the Manager informed of developments surrounding the regulatory notice. Inclusion has confirmed to the Manager that the Regulator's notice has been issued in connection with a particular point of governance compliance, rather than any concern regarding Inclusion's financial standing or viability. As part of the Company's acquisition process, the Manager conducts a thorough due diligence process on all Registered Providers with which the Company enters into lease agreements; and as a result, the Board and the Manager are confident that Inclusion is a prudently run and profitable business.

The Company has leases with a number of other Registered Providers who are close to progressing through the threshold of 1,000 units under management and who the Company therefore expects to be the subject of an IDA in due course. The Company and the Manager see this a positive for these Registered Providers due to the increased accountability and higher degree of transparency which it brings, and the Company will not typically make an announcement when an IDA is undertaken.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE COMPANY, PLEASE CONTACT:

Triple Point Investment Management LLP (Delegated Investment Manager)	(via Newgate below)
James Cranmer
Ben Beaton
Max Shenkman
Akur Limited (Joint Financial Adviser)	Tel: [phone]
Tom Frost
Anthony Richardson
Siobhan Sergeant
Canaccord Genuity Limited (Joint Financial Adviser and Sole Global Coordinator and Bookrunner)	Tel: [phone]
Lucy Lewis
Denis Flanagan
Andrew Zychowski
Newgate (PR Adviser)	Tel: [phone]
James Benjamin	Em: [e-mail]
Anna Geffert
Patrick Hanrahan
Leena Patel

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 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 and delivering returns to investors.

Triple Point Investment Management LLP (part of the Triple Point Group) is responsible for management of the Group's portfolio (with such functions having been delegated to it by Langham Hall Fund Management LLP, the Company's alternative investment fund manager).

The Company was admitted to trading on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange on 8 August 2017 and operates as a UK Real Estate Investment Trust ("REIT").

 

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