Unite disposes of Woburn Place, London for £135 million – 8 March 2017

Unite Students, the UK’s leading manager and developer of student accommodation, announces that it has exchanged contracts for the disposal of Woburn Place in London for £135 million (Unite share: £67.5 million) to GCP Student Living PLC. The property is owned in its LSAV joint venture, and the price reflects a value per bedroom of £316,000, a net initial yield of 4.5% and a 6% premium to book value.

Woburn Place is a direct let building located in Bloomsbury and comprises 427 bedrooms that are principally studios. The disposal forms part of Unite’s strategy to take advantage of the ongoing strength in the investment market and substantially completes plans to recycle £150-£200 million of assets (Unite share) during 2017. The receipts will be used to fund the development pipeline and further investment into higher quality investments such as the recently acquired on-campus accommodation at Aston University.  The Group LTV will fall to 32% following the disposal.

Richard Simpson, Group Property Director, said:

“We will continue to invest in our highly accretive development pipeline and to target further acquisitions that enhance the quality of our portfolio and support earnings growth. Our strategy remains focused on high quality Universities, where we see the most long-term growth.”

For further information, please contact:

Unite Students
Joe Lister, Chief Financial Officer
Paul Richmond, Corporate Affairs Director
Tel: +44 117 302 7005

Bell Pottinger
Victoria Geoghegan
Nick Lambert
Elizabeth Snow 
Tel: +44 20 3772 2562