TRADING UPDATE AND Q2 FUND VALUATIONS

Unite Group PLC (The)

10 July 2023

 

PRESS RELEASE

10 July 2023

THE UNITE GROUP PLC

('Unite Students', 'Unite', the 'Group', or the 'Company')

TRADING UPDATE AND Q2 FUND VALUATIONS

RECORD RESERVATIONS, RENTAL GROWTH GUIDANCE INCREASED TO 7%, STABLE VALUATIONS

Unite Students, the UK's leading owner, manager and developer of student accommodation, today announces an update on current trading and quarterly property valuations for the Unite UK Student Accommodation Fund ('USAF') and the London Student Accommodation Joint Venture ('LSAV') as at 30 June 2023.

Richard Smith, Unite Students Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"Reservations for the 2023/24 academic year remain at record levels, with 98% of rooms now sold, reflecting strong demand from both students and universities and the attractiveness of our fixed-priced all-inclusive offer. This supports an improvement in our rental growth guidance to around 7% for the 2023/24 academic year. Our strong leasing performance will continue to support our property valuations as the market adjusts to an environment of higher interest rates.

The supply of purpose-built student accommodation cannot keep pace with growing student demand at the same time as HMO landlords are leaving the sector. Unite is uniquely positioned to address this housing need through our best-in-class operating platform, university relationships development and asset management capabilities."

2023/24 lettings performance

Sales have continued to progress strongly for the 2023/24 academic year with 98% of rooms now sold (2022/23: 91%). Demand remains strong from both university partners and students booking accommodation on a direct-let basis. Nominations agreements cover 56% of total beds for 2023/24 (2022/23: 52%), representing an increase of around 2,000 beds compared to the prior year, as universities increasingly rely on partners to meet their accommodation needs.

This is supportive of full occupancy and rental value growth of around 7% (previously 6-7%) for the 2023/24 academic year (2022/23: 99% and 3.5%).

Development pipeline

The Group is committed to four development schemes with a total development cost of £339 million and blended yield on cost of 6.7% for the student accommodation elements. The £179 million remaining costs to complete these projects will be funded through the Group's cash and committed debt headroom of £393 million at 30 June.

Funding update

During the quarter, USAF completed a new £400 million secured loan, refinancing its £380 million bond which matured in June 2023. The 7-year loan has a fixed rate of 5.4% and is consistent with our previous guidance for a 3.6% overall cost of debt in 2023 on a see-though basis.

Quarterly fund valuations

At 30 June 2023, USAF's property portfolio was independently valued at £2,923 million, a 1.2% increase on a like-for-like basis during the quarter. The valuation increase in USAF is driven by quarterly rental growth of 2.2% and a 5 basis point increase in property yields. The portfolio comprises 27,924 beds in 71 properties across 19 university towns and cities in the UK.

LSAV's investment portfolio was independently valued at £1,940 million, a 1.1% increase on a like-for-like basis during the quarter. The valuation increase in LSAV is driven by quarterly rental growth of 2.0% and a 4 basis point increase in property yields. LSAV's investment portfolio comprises 9,716 beds across 14 properties in London and Aston Student Village in Birmingham.

The USAF and LSAV portfolios are now valued at weighted average yields of 5.1% and 4.3% respectively. We expect the valuations of our wholly owned portfolio for 30 June 2023 to be broadly consistent with the USAF and LSAV valuation movements over the first half of the year.

ENDS

For further information, please contact:

Unite Students

Richard Smith / Joe Lister / Mike Burt

Unite press office                                                                    Tel: [phone]

Powerscourt

Justin Griffiths / Victoria Heslop                                             Tel: [phone]

About Unite Students

Unite Students is the UK's largest owner, manager and developer of purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) serving the country's world-leading higher education sector. We provide homes to 70,000 students across 157 properties in 23 leading university towns and cities. We currently partner with over 60 universities across the UK.

Our people are driven by a common purpose: to provide a 'Home for Success' for the students who live with us. Unite Students' accommodation is safe and secure, high quality, and affordable. Students live predominantly in en-suite study bedrooms with rents covering all bills, insurance, 24-hour security and high-speed Wi-Fi. We also achieved a five-star British Safety Council rating in our last audit.

We are committed to raising standards in the student accommodation sector for our customers, investors and employees. This is why our Sustainability Strategy, launched in 2021, includes a commitment to become net zero carbon across our operations and developments by 2030.

Founded in 1991 in Bristol, the Unite Group is an award-winning Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), listed on the London Stock Exchange. For more information, visit Unite Group's corporate website www.unitegroup.com or the Unite Students' site www.unitestudents.com

 

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