TIDMUTG
RNS Number : 4005F
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 GBP339 million and blended yield on cost of
6.7% for the student accommodation elements. The GBP179 million
remaining costs to complete these projects will be funded through
the Group's cash and committed debt headroom of GBP393 million at
30 June.
Funding update
During the quarter, USAF completed a new GBP400 million secured
loan, refinancing its GBP380 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 GBP2,923 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 GBP1,940
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: +44 117 450 6300
Powerscourt
Justin Griffiths / Victoria Heslop Tel: +44 20 7250 1446
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
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms
and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information
contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an
anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services.
For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange
use the personal data you provide us, please see our Privacy
Policy.
END
TSTSSUFIWEDSEIW
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 10, 2023 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)
Unite (LSE:UTG)
Graphique Historique de l'Action
De Mar 2024 à Avr 2024
Unite (LSE:UTG)
Graphique Historique de l'Action
De Avr 2023 à Avr 2024