GCP Student Living plc
(“GCP Student” or the “Company”, together with its subsidiaries
the “Group”)
LEI: 2138004J4ID66FK38H25
Net Asset Value and Dividend
Net Asset Value
GCP Student, the UK's first REIT focused on student residential
assets, today announces that at close of business on 31 December 2018, the unaudited estimated EPRA
net asset value per ordinary share of the Company was 157.93 pence. The EPRA net asset value includes
income for the period (cum-income) and does not include a provision
for an accrued dividend for the quarter to 31 December 2018.
The EPRA net asset value (ex-income) was 156.4 pence per ordinary share as at that date,
representing a quarterly increase of 3.2%.
Dividend
The Board is pleased to announce a second interim dividend of
1.53 pence per ordinary share, in
respect of the quarter ended 31 December
2018. The second interim dividend will be paid on
11 March 2019 to ordinary
shareholders on the register at 15 February
2019. The dividend will be paid as 1.22 pence per ordinary share as a REIT property
income distribution ("PID") in respect of the Group's tax-exempt
property rental business and 0.31
pence per ordinary share as an ordinary UK dividend
(“non-PID”).
Portfolio Update
At 31 December 2018, the valuation
of the Company’s portfolio was £841.5 million, 92% of which was
located in and around London,
representing a like-for-like increase over the quarter of 3.0%. The
portfolio comprised ten assets with c.3,600 beds, of which nine are
currently operational. The Net Initial Yield on the operational
portfolio was 4.74%.
As announced on 10 September 2018,
the comprehensive refurbishment of Scape Bloomsbury, located in
London WC1, completed ahead of
schedule and opened to students for the 2018/19 academic year,
providing 432 beds in London WC1.
Accordingly, the Company’s dividend cover is expected to be
materially enhanced (assuming current occupancy levels across the
existing portfolio).
The forward funded construction of Circus Street, Brighton continues in-line with the Investment
Manager’s expectations. The asset is expected to complete for the
2019/20 academic year and will provide a further 450 beds in
addition to c.30,000 square feet of commercial office space. The
student accommodation will be contracted on a 21-year lease, with
annual uplifts of RPI plus 50 basis points, capped at 5% and
floored at 2%, to a subsidiary of Kaplan Inc, a global education
provider. The Company benefits from a licensing fee providing a
5.5% coupon on drawn funding through the construction stage.
In July 2018, the Company entered
into a conditional contract to acquire and forward fund Scape
Brighton. This contract has now gone unconditional and the Company
expects to complete on the acquisition of the asset in the coming
months. Scape Brighton will
provide c.550 beds, extensive communal areas and c.1,500 square
feet of retail space. It is currently expected that Scape Brighton
will be operational for the 2020/21 academic year.
In December 2018 the Company
secured a new borrowing facility with Wells Fargo Bank N.A. for an
amount of up to £55 million partly to fund the construction of
Scape Brighton (the “Development Facility”). The Group’s
aggregate available banking facilities total £335 million. Its
current blended cost of borrowing on drawn debt is 2.96%. The
loan-to-value of the Group at 31 December
2018 is approximately 26%.
Additional information on the Company’s portfolio can be found
in the factsheet for the period ended 31
December 2018, which will be published shortly and will be
available at: -
www.graviscapital.com/funds/gcp-student/literature
For further information please contact:
Gravis Capital Management Limited
+44 020 3405 8500
Tom
Ward
Nick
Barker
Dion Di
Miceli
Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited
+44 020 7710 7600
Neil
Winward
Mark
Young
Tom
Yeadon
Buchanan / Quill +44 020 7466
5000
Helen Tarbet
Henry
Wilson
About GCP Student
The Company was the first student accommodation REIT in the UK,
investing in modern, purpose-built, private student residential
accommodation and teaching facilities. Its investments are located
primarily in and around London
where the Investment Manager believes the Company is likely to
benefit from supply and demand imbalances for student residential
accommodation.
GCP Student’s property portfolio comprises ten assets with
c.3,600 beds, including one asset which is expected to complete
construction for the 2019/20 academic year. At 31 December 2018, its property portfolio was
valued at £841.5 million.
The Company’s standing properties are predominantly occupied by
international students and offer high specification facilities and
hotel-level concierge type services which the Investment Manager
believes are attractive to overseas students.