REG - Unite Group PLC - Unsecured Bond Issuance

UniteAnnouncement

19/06/2024 09:00

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RNS Number : 9565S  Unite Group PLC (The)  19 June 2024

PRESS RELEASE

19 June 2024

THE UNITE GROUP PLC

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

£400 MILLION, 8 YEAR, UNSECURED BOND ISSUANCE

 

Unite Students, the UK's leading owner, manager and developer of student
accommodation, is pleased to announce the pricing of a £400 million, 8 year,
unsecured bond under the Group's recently established Euro Medium Term Note
'EMTN' Programme.

 

The bonds will bear a coupon of 5.625%. The effective cost to the Company is
reduced due to prior hedging at interest rates significantly below current
market rates. The Group's expected weighted average cost of debt for FY2024
remains in-line with our previous guidance of 3.6% (FY2023: 3.2%). Following
issuance of the bonds, the Group's weighted average debt maturity will
increase to 4.3 years (December 2023: 3.8 years).

 

S&P and Moody's are expected to assign BBB and Baa1 ratings to the bonds,
in-line with their existing issuer ratings of The Unite Group plc. The bonds
will be used for general corporate purposes including refinancing.

 

Michael Burt, Unite Students Chief Financial Officer, commented:

"We are pleased to have issued our first bond through our new Euro Medium Term
Note Programme which enhances our access to debt markets. This new financing
provides increased flexibility to fund our growing pipeline of development and
accretive asset management opportunities and lengthens our maturity profile"

ENDS

 

 

 

 

For further information, please contact:

 

Unite Students

Joe Lister / Mike Burt / Saxon Ridley
         Tel: +44 117 302 7005

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
(http://www.unitegroup.com/) or the Unite Students'
site www.unitestudents.com (https://www.unitestudents.com/)

 

 

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