Disposal

RNS Number : 8013Y

Unite Group PLC

08 March 2017

 

Press release 8 March 2017

THE UNITE GROUP PLC

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

UNITE DISPOSES OF WOBURN PLACE, LONDON FOR £135 MILLION

Unite Students, the UK's leading manager and developer of student accommodation, announces that it has exchanged contracts for the disposal of Woburn Place in London for £135 million (Unite share: £67.5 million) to GCP Student Living PLC. The property is owned in its LSAV joint venture, and the price reflects a value per bedroom of £316,000, a net initial yield of 4.5% and a 6% premium to book value.

Woburn Place is a direct let building located in Bloomsbury and comprises 427 bedrooms that are principally studios. The disposal forms part of Unite's strategy to take advantage of the ongoing strength in the investment market and substantially completes plans to recycle £150-£200 million of assets (Unite share) during 2017. The receipts will be used to fund the development pipeline and further investment into higher quality investments such as the recently acquired on-campus accommodation at Aston University.  The Group LTV will fall to 32% following the disposal.

Richard Simpson, Group Property Director, said:

"We will continue to invest in our highly accretive development pipeline and to target further acquisitions that enhance the quality of our portfolio and support earnings growth. Our strategy remains focused on high quality Universities, where we see the most long-term growth."

-ENDS-

For further information, please contact:

Unite Students Joe Lister, Chief Financial Officer Paul Richmond, Corporate Affairs Director	Tel: [phone]
Bell Pottinger Victoria Geoghegan Nick Lambert Elizabeth Snow	Tel: [phone]

Notes to editors:

About Unite Students

Unite Students is the UK's largest and most established manager and developer of purpose-built student accommodation. It provides a home for around 50,000 students, in more than 140 properties, across 28 leading university cities in England and Scotland. Unite works in partnership with more than 60 Higher Education institutions and also lets rooms directly to students.

Unite's purpose is to provide a home to its culturally-diverse customers, offering them a strong foundation for academic and personal success. The accommodation is high quality, safe and close to university campuses, transport links and local amenities. Students live in ensuite study bedrooms with rents covering all bills, insurance, 24-hour security, fortnightly cleaning of communal kitchens and bathrooms and high speed Wi-Fi.

Founded in 1991 in Bristol, The Unite Group plc is a FTSE250 company, listed on the London Stock Exchange, employing more than 1,250 people. It pursues a sustainable growth strategy, designed to make the most of the resilient nature of the student accommodation sector. Unite is focused on maintaining its position as the leading provider of student accommodation in the UK, by having the best brand, operating the highest quality portfolio and maintaining the strongest capital structure in the sector. This is achieved with consistent investment in, and improvement to, the operating platform; highly selective development activity and asset management initiatives.

Unite is invested in and operates a two specialist funds and joint ventures with institutional investment partners, the £2 billion Unite UK Student Accommodation Fund (USAF) and the £1 billion London Student Accommodation Vehicle (LSAV).

Unite is the founder and major donor of the Unite Foundation. Since 2012 this has provided free student accommodation and financial support to 160 young people in the UK who lack family support.

For more information you can visit Unite's corporate website www.unite-group.co.uk, the student site www.unite-students.com or the Unite Foundation www.unitefoundation.co.uk.

LEI: 213800BBUUWVDH9YI827

 

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