GBP 273.5M SECURITISATION
Unite Group PLC
4 April 2002
For immediate release
4 April 2002
THE UNITE GROUP PLC
SECURITISATION OF 9,961 STUDENT AND KEY-WORKER BED SPACES
Further to the announcement of 14 March 2002, The UNITE Group PLC ('UNITE')
announces the launch of a £273.5 million three tranche bond offering,
securitising the rental income on a portfolio of 47 properties, comprising 9,961
bed spaces, which is expected to close on 9 April 2002.
The bonds will be issued by UNITE Finance One PLC, an on-balance sheet UK
special purpose vehicle established solely for this purpose. Repayment of the
issue will be without recourse to UNITE.
The offering comprises three tranches of long-dated, asset-backed, fixed rate
Sterling eurobonds. Payments of interest on all tranches, and the principal on
certain tranches, will be made from rental receipts from the portfolio.
All three tranches of bonds have expected final maturities of 25 years. The
Class A Bonds, which represent 53.6% of the total, are expected to be assigned a
credit rating of AAA by Standard & Poor's; the Class B Bonds are expected to be
assigned a credit rating of A and the Class C Bonds are expected to be assigned
a credit rating of BBB.
The properties are situated across the United Kingdom and, as at 31 December
2001, had an open market value of £351 million generating net rent of £23.3
million per annum. The assets are a mixture of those leased to institutions,
the subject of nominations agreements and let directly to students. The
portfolio represents substantially all of UNITE's completed properties as at 31
December 2001.
The securitisation will reduce the Group's weighted average interest rate on
long term finance for completed assets from 7.47% as at 31 December 2001 to
6.69% and also lengthen the Group's weighted average debt maturity on long term
finance from 9.3 years at 31 December 2001 to 19.4 years.
It is UNITE's intention to use the proceeds to repay existing bank facilities of
£221 million with the surplus providing further working capital for the Group.
UNITE expects to incur costs associated with the redemption of its existing
facilities and unwinding of associated interest rate swaps. As a result,
non-recurring costs of £10.3 million will be taken to the Group's profit and
loss account and the transaction will be earnings dilutive in the current year.
After repayment of all borrowings and associated costs, and payment of fees
relating to the securitisation, UNITE estimates that the transaction will
release £39 million of capital for reinvestment into its development pipeline.
It is anticipated that this capital will be fully invested in UNITE's
development pipeline during 2002, creating significant net asset value uplift.
At current investment and return rates the transaction is expected to be NAV
accretive in the current year.
UNITE Integrated Solutions Plc, UNITE's principal operating entity will act as
the property manager for the portfolio. UBS Warburg Ltd has structured the
offering and will act as lead manager and book runner for the transaction.
Simon Bernstein, UNITE's Chief Financial Officer, comments
'UNITE is breaking new ground in the financing of student and key worker
accommodation. This securitisation allows UNITE to release £39 million of
capital for reinvestment in our business and demonstrates the excellent quality
of our completed portfolio. This transaction proves our commitment to recycle
our capital and our ability to fund our significant growth plans.'
ENDS
For further information:
The UNITE Group PLC Tel: 020 7902 5055
Nicholas Porter, Chief Executive Officer
Simon Bernstein, Chief Financial Officer
UBS Warburg Ltd Tel: 020 7568 1000
Caroline Philips / David Newby
Edmund Craston
Redleaf Communications Tel: 020 7955 1410
Emma Kane, Chief Executive Mob: 07876 338339
Scott Convoy
APPENDIX - Notes to Editors
1. Details of the bonds
The tranches of the offering are set out below.
Classes Amount Size as % of Average life/
Expected (£m) total bonds expected maturity Coupon
rating issued (years) (%)
A AAA 146.5 53.6 16.8 / 25.0 5.926
B A 65.0 23.8 21.8 / 25.0 6.625
C BBB 62.0 22.6 22.8 / 25.0 8.549
273.5 100.0 19.4 / 25.0 6.686
2. Details of portfolio
The properties being securitised are situated around the United Kingdom,
predominantly in London, the North West and the South West.
Area Number of properties Number of bed spaces % of portfolio by
value
East 1 54 0.5%
Greater London 6 1,000 20.9%
North East 2 419 2.6%
North West 12 3,044 23.2%
Scotland 3 808 6.0%
South East 2 676 6.5%
South West 16 2,505 28.1%
Wales 1 110 0.8%
West Midlands 1 153 1.3%
Yorkshire 3 1,192 10.1%
TOTAL 47 9,961 100.0%
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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