Early Redemption of Bonds

RNS Number : 6159T

Unite Group PLC

15 November 2019

 

PRESS RELEASE

15 November 2019

THE UNITE GROUP PLC

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

Notice of early redemption of

£90 million 6.125 per cent. Bonds due 2020

(the "Bonds")

The Company has decided to exercise its option to redeem all of the outstanding Bonds. This will be funded from existing undrawn bank facilities.

Set out below are details of the notice of redemption, which is also being given to Bondholders in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Bonds.

NOTICE OF REDEMPTION

to the holders of the outstanding

£90,000,000 6.125 per cent. bonds due 2020

(ISIN: XS0856594642; Common Code: 085659464)

 (the "Bonds")

issued by The UNITE Group plc

(the "Issuer")

Capitalised terms used but not otherwise defined in this notice shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the trust deed dated 12 December 2012 and executed by the Issuer and U.S. Bank Trustees Limited (the "Trustee").

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN to the Bondholders that, in accordance with Condition 5(c) (Redemption at the option of the Issuer) of the Bonds, the Issuer will redeem all of the outstanding Bonds on 19 December 2019 (the "Optional Redemption Date") at the Redemption Price (to be calculated by Conv-Ex Advisors Limited as independent financial adviser in accordance with Condition 5(c) (Redemption at the option of the Issuer)), together with interest accrued to (but excluding) the Optional Redemption Date.

For the purpose of calculating the Redemption Price as aforesaid, Conv-Ex Advisors Limited intends to determine the Gross Redemption Yield at 11.00 a.m. (London time) on the Calculation Date of the 3.75 per cent. United Kingdom Government Treasury Stock due 2020 based on the mid-market price thereof as observed on Bloomberg at such time using the pricing source "BGN" (being the Bloomberg Generic Price).

Following calculation of the Redemption Price on the Calculation Date, notice of the Redemption Price will be given to the Bondholders.

Enquiries:

Elavon Financial Services DAC, UK Branch (formerly known as Elavon Financial Services Limited, UK Branch)

5th Floor, 125 Old Broad Street, London, United Kingdom EC2N 1AR

Principal Paying Agent

ENDS

For further information, please contact:

Unite Students

Richard Smith / Joe Lister / Paul Richmond                           Tel: [phone]

Powerscourt

Justin Griffiths                                                                         Tel: [phone]

About Unite Students

Unite Students is one of the UK's largest owners, managers and developers of purpose-built student accommodation serving the country's world-leading higher education sector. We currently provide homes for almost 50,000 students in circa 130 properties across 22 leading university towns and cities in England and Scotland. Unite also has a strong development pipeline, which will deliver more than 6,000 beds in the next three years. 

Our 1,400 people are driven by a common purpose: to provide the students who live with us a 'Home for Success' and to be the most trusted brand in the sector.  We do this through quality service, quality people and quality properties, all designed on the basis of an excellent insight into students' needs and preferences.

Unite's accommodation is high quality, safe and secure, and located where students want to live. Students live predominantly in en-suite study bedrooms with rents covering all bills, insurance, 24-hour security, fortnightly cleaning services and high-speed Wi-Fi. MyUnite, our mobile app, provides practical support such as instant messaging and maintenance requests.

Our commitment to customer service is powered by an innovative, in-house operating platform. It provides a wide range of benefits to our students, such as an optimised online booking process, as well as providing us with a unique ability to drive value from our portfolio through scale efficiencies and revenue management.

Alongside delivering quality service, our other strategic priority is delivering growing and sustainable earnings, underpinned by a strong capital structure.  A key part of this strategy is growing the number of beds let through partnerships with mid and high tariff universities which are experiencing record levels of student demand.  We currently partner with 60 higher education institutions, guaranteeing that approximately 60% of our rooms are let under 'nomination agreements' providing high visibility of forward occupancy and rental growth.

Unite is invested in and operates 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 of and major donor to the Unite Foundation, a charitable trust established to support talented students facing challenging financial circumstances through the provision of free accommodation annual scholarships. The Foundation has so far provided scholarships for 250 young people working in close collaboration with 29 partner universities.

Founded in 1991 in Bristol, Unite Group is an award-winning Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), listed on the London Stock Exchange and a member of the FTSE 250 Index.

For more information, please 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

IMPORTANT NOTICE

This announcement is for information purposes only and shall not constitute an offer to sell or issue or the solicitation of an offer to buy, subscribe for or otherwise acquire securities in any jurisdiction in which any such offer or solicitation would be unlawful. Any failure to comply with this restriction may constitute a violation of the securities laws of such jurisdictions.

This announcement may contain "forward-looking statements" with respect to certain of the Company's plans and its current goals and expectations relating to its future financial condition, performance, strategic initiatives, objectives and results. Forward-looking statements sometimes use words such as "aim", "anticipate", "target", "expect", "estimate", "intend", "plan", "goal", "believe", "seek", "may", "could", "outlook" or other words of similar meaning. By their nature, all forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to future events and circumstances which are or may be beyond the control of Unite and/or Liberty Living and which could cause actual results of trends to differ materially. Any forward-looking statements made in this announcement by or on behalf of the Company speak only as of the date they are made. Except as required by applicable law or regulation, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to publish any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained in this announcement to reflect any changes in the Company's expectations with regard thereto or any changes in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

No statement in this announcement is intended to be a profit forecast, and no statement in this announcement should be interpreted to mean that earnings or earnings per share of Unite or Liberty Living for the current or future financial years would necessarily match or exceed the historical published earnings or earnings per share of Unite or Liberty Living.

Neither the content of the Company's website nor any website accessible by hyperlinks on the Company's website is incorporated in, or forms part of, this announcement.

 

END

 

 

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