£52.5m Fixed Rate 10-Year Term Loan Facility

RNS Number : 5334V

Civitas Social Housing PLC

03 November 2017

 

3^rd November 2017

CIVITAS SOCIAL HOUSING PLC

("Civitas" or the "Company")

£52.5m Fixed Rate 10-Year Term Loan Facility from Scottish Widows Limited

The Board of Civitas Social Housing PLC is pleased to announce that the Company has secured a 10-year, interest only, fixed rate term loan facility of £52.5m from Scottish Widows Limited (the 'Facility').

The Facility, arranged by Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, is priced at an all-in fixed rate of 2.99%, and is repayable 10 years from the date of utilisation.  It is secured by a portfolio of c.£175m of, primarily, specialist supported living assets acquired by the Company since its admission in late 2016.

The Facility is the first of a planned debt funding programme designed to support the Company's continuing growth.  Civitas intends to utilise the proceeds of the Facility in short order to finance its extensive pipeline of new transactions. 

The Facility remains within the Company's objective to restrict overall gearing to c.25% of gross asset value; and well within Civitas's overall borrowing restrictions.

The Company anticipates announcing the provision of additional loan facilities shortly, in line with its stated intention to secure debt funding in excess of £90m.

Michael Wrobel, Chairman of Civitas, commented: "We are delighted to have secured this loan facility from Scottish Widows, locking in an attractive interest rate and demonstrating the high quality of the Company's assets. We expect this to be the first in a series of loans to be utilised in the near term to acquire our extensive pipeline of properties."

Andrew Wheldon, of Lloyds Bank Commercial Real Estate, added: "With the UK suffering from a chronic shortage of housing across all tenures, we are pleased to be supporting Civitas through this long-term capital solution, secured against a diversified portfolio of investment grade specialist supported living assets."

For further information, please contact:

Civitas Housing Advisors Limited

Paul Bridge                           Tel: [phone]

Andrew Dawber                   Tel: [phone]

Cenkos Securities PLC

Sapna Shah                           Tel: [phone]

Tom Scrivens                        Tel: [phone]

Pagefield

Philip Dennis                       Tel: [phone]

David Leslie                          Tel: [phone]

Notes:

Civitas Social Housing PLC is the first Real Estate Investment Trust offering pure play exposure to social housing in England and Wales.  The Company is managed by Civitas Housing Advisors Limited.  The Company is 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 November 2016.

 

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