Unite Group sells two more student properties in London for £342m
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Student accommodation developer Unite Group has sold two London properties for £342m, it announced this morning.
Unite has sold the blocks with 1,358 beds in Wembley and Whitechapel to its London student accommodation joint venture (LSAV) with Singapore wealth fund GIC, in an effort to pay down debt.
The company said that most of the Wembley and Whitechapel beds are directly-let to students. It comes just three months after the group sold eight student buildings in Coventry, Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Exeter and Manchester to Aventicum Real Estate for £133m.
Unite said net proceeds from the sale will be used to repay group debt and then reinvested in its development pipeline over time.
LSAV will fund the acquisition through £208m of equity from Unite and GIC and a £140m 8-year loan provided by Barings.
Unite said it would continue to manage and operate the properties, under its management agreement with LSAV.
“The transaction means we have now delivered over £260 million of disposals in the year to date on a Unite share basis,” said Unite chief executive Richard Smith.
“This provides us with significant capacity to reinvest in our development pipeline, including opportunities in London,” he added.