GCP Student Living PLC Net Asset Value, Dividend and Portfolio Update (4338H)
01 August 2019 - 4:00PM
UK Regulatory
TIDMDIGS
RNS Number : 4338H
GCP Student Living PLC
01 August 2019
GCP Student Living plc
("GCP Student" or the "Company", together with its subsidiaries
the "Group")
LEI: 2138004J4ID66FK38H25
NAV, dividend and portfolio update
Net Asset Value
GCP Student, the UK's first REIT focused on student residential
assets, today announces that at close of business on 30 June 2019,
the unaudited estimated EPRA net asset value per ordinary share of
the Company was 165.52 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 30 June 2019.
The EPRA net asset value (ex-income) was 163.96 pence per
ordinary share as at that date, representing a quarterly increase
of 2.5% and an increase of 11.1% for the Company's financial year
to 30 June 2019.
Dividend
The Board is pleased to announce a fourth interim dividend of
1.56 pence per ordinary share, in respect of the quarter ended 30
June 2019. The dividend will be paid on 9 September 2019 to
ordinary shareholders on the register at 9 August 2019. The
dividend will be paid as 1.08 pence per ordinary share as a REIT
property income distribution ("PID") in respect of the Group's
tax-exempt property rental business and 0.48 pence per ordinary
share as an ordinary UK dividend ("non-PID").
The Company has paid or declared dividends in respect of the
year ended 30 June 2019 of 6.15 pence per ordinary share (YE 2018:
5.95 pence per ordinary share).
Portfolio and management update
At 30 June 2019, the valuation of the Company's portfolio was
GBP921.6 million, 87% of which was located in and around London,
representing a like-for-like increase over the quarter of 2.3%. At
that date the portfolio comprised eleven assets with c.4,100 beds,
of which nine are currently operational. The Net Initial Yield on
the operational portfolio was 4.54% at that date.
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 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.
On 23 May 2019, the Company announced that it had completed the
acquisition of Scape Brighton, a large-scale development with
planning consent for the construction of purpose-built private
student accommodation located on the primary campus of the
University of Brighton. Once constructed it will provide 555 beds
and extensive communal areas with c.1,500 square feet of retail
space. It is currently expected that Scape Brighton will be
operational for the 2020/21 academic year. The Company will benefit
from licensing fees which will provide a 5.5% per annum coupon
through the construction phase.
The Company benefits from a conditional forward purchase
agreement to acquire Scape Mile End Canalside ("Scape Canalside"),
a high-specification, 412-bed, new-build asset located immediately
adjacent to Queen Mary University of London and in the same
locality as the Group's existing 588-bed Scape East asset. If Scape
Canalside is acquired, the Company's portfolio will include 1,000
beds in the same locality as Queen Mary University of London,
providing the opportunity to take advantage of operational
economies of scale. The Directors believe the acquisition of Scape
Canalside should enable the Company to secure a new asset in a
highly attractive London location which is expected to provide
rental and earnings growth for the Company over the long term.
The Board and the Investment Manager currently expect to
complete the acquisition of this asset ahead of the 2019/20
academic year. At the date of this announcement bookings for this
asset are materially ahead of the Investment Manager's
forecasts.
It is the Directors current intention that the acquisition of
Scape Canalside will be funded primarily with new borrowings. In
such circumstance, the Group's LTV will increase to the mid-30s%
level as the Company completes its forward funding development
pipeline over the next 12 to 18 months.
Additional information on the Company's portfolio can be found
in the factsheet for the period ended 30 June 2019, 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
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 eleven assets with
c.4,100 beds, including one asset which is expected to complete
construction for the 2019/20 academic year and one which is
expected to complete construction for the 2020/21 academic year. At
30 June 2019, its property portfolio was valued at GBP921.6
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.
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.
END
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