Quarterly Valuation Update

RNS Number : 3598V

Unite Group PLC

08 April 2019

 

Press release 8 April 2019

THE UNITE GROUP PLC

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

QUARTERLY VALUATION UPDATE FOR THE UNITE UK STUDENT ACCOMMODATION FUND AND THE LONDON STUDENT ACCOMMODATION JOINT VENTURE

The Unite Group plc, the UK's leading manager and developer of student accommodation, announces the quarterly property valuation of the Unite UK Student Accommodation Fund ('USAF') and the London Student Accommodation Joint Venture ('LSAV') as at 31 March 2019.

At 31 March 2019, USAF's property portfolio was independently valued at £2,266 million, representing a like-for-like increase of 0.5% during the quarter. The portfolio comprises 23,483 beds in 63 properties across 21 University towns and cities in the UK.

LSAV's investment portfolio was independently valued at £1,262 million, up 1.5% in the quarter on a like-for-like basis. LSAV's investment portfolio comprises 8,354 beds across 12 properties in London and Aston Student Village in Birmingham.

The increase in valuations is driven primarily by rental growth across the portfolio which is in line with the first quarter in 2018 and supports our outlook of 3.0-3.5% for the whole of 2019. The USAF portfolio is valued at an average yield of 5.3% and LSAV's portfolio at 4.5%.

Reservations for the 2019/20 academic year are progressing strongly with 79% of bed spaces let (compared with 77% at this time last year).

Joe Lister, Unite Students Chief Financial Officer, commented:

"Unite Students has delivered another strong performance in the first quarter of 2019. Reservations for the 2019/20 academic year are in line with last year's run rate and support a positive rental growth outlook."

ENDS

For further information, please contact:

Unite Students Joe Lister, Chief Financial Officer Candice Macdonald, Head of Communications Powerscourt Justin Griffiths Mazar Masud Victoria Heslop

Tel: [phone] Tel: [phone] Tel: [phone]

About Unite Students

Unite Students is the UK's largest manager and developer 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 unrivalled insight into students' needs and preferences.

Unite's accommodation is high quality, safe and secure, and located close to university campuses, transport links and local amenities. 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 though 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 multi-year, '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 28 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

 

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