REG - Watkin Jones plc - Forward Sale of PBSA Development in Bristol

Watkin JonesAnnouncement

07/03/2024 16:15

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
http://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20240307:nRSG0556Ga&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 0556G  Watkin Jones plc  07 March 2024

                 7 March 2024

 

 

Watkin Jones plc

('Watkin Jones' or the 'Group')

 

Forward Sale of PBSA Development in Bristol

 

Watkin Jones is pleased to announce the forward sale of a new 260 bed PBSA
('Purpose Built Student Accommodation') development at Gas Lane in Bristol to
Hines, acquiring on behalf of the Hines European Property Partners Fund
('HEPP').

 

The contribution from this sale is reflected in the Group's current financial
guidance, with an overall scheme margin expected to be in line with current
target returns.  The transaction will generate day one cash receipts of c.
£11 million, net of repayment of the associated debt of c.£5 million.

 

As part of Bristol Temple Quarter, one of the UK's largest urban regeneration
zones, it will transform the current brownfield site at Gas Lane into a new
student community, helping to support the new University of Bristol Temple
Quarter campus. The scheme is targeted to complete in time for the start of
the 2025/26 academic year.

 

Alex Pease, CEO of Watkin Jones, commented: "We are delighted to announce the
forward sale of this student accommodation development. This is our first
transaction with Hines and we look forward to working with such a
highly-regarded partner going forward.

"This transaction gives us confidence that sentiment in the institutional
market continues to recover. As the market shows further signs of improvement,
we are well-positioned to capitalize on this given our position in PBSA and
Build to Rent, two of the most attractive asset classes in real estate."

 

- Ends -

 

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of
the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 as it forms part of UK Domestic
Law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("UK MAR")

 

 

For further information:

 Watkin Jones plc
 Alex Pease, Chief Executive Officer      Tel: +44 (0) 20 3617 4453
 Sarah Sergeant, Chief Financial Officer  www.watkinjonesplc.com (http://www.watkinjonesplc.com/)

 Peel Hunt LLP (Nominated Adviser & Joint Corporate Broker)                 Tel: +44 (0) 20 7418 8900
 Mike Bell / Ed Allsopp                                                     www.peelhunt.com (http://www.peelhunt.com/)

 Jefferies Hoare Govett (Joint Corporate Broker)                            Tel: +44 (0) 20 7029 8000
 James Umbers / David Sheehan / Paul Bundred                                www.jefferies.com (http://www.jefferies.com/)

 

Media enquiries:

 Buchanan
 Henry Harrison-Topham / Steph Whitmore / Jamie Hooper  Tel: +44 (0) 20 7466 5000
 watkinjones@buchanan.uk.com                            www.buchanancomms.co.uk

 

Notes to Editors

 

Watkin Jones is the UK's leading developer and manager of residential for
rent, with a focus on the build to rent, student accommodation and affordable
housing sectors. The Group has strong relationships with institutional
investors, and a reputation for successful, on-time-delivery of high-quality
developments. Since 1999, Watkin Jones has delivered over 49,000 student beds
across 147 schemes, making it a key player and leader in the UK purpose-built
student accommodation market, and is increasingly expanding its operations
into the build to rent sector. In addition, Fresh, the Group's specialist
accommodation management business, manages over 16,800 student beds and build
to rent apartments on behalf of its institutional clients. Watkin Jones has
also been responsible for over 50 residential developments, ranging from
starter homes to executive housing and apartments.

 

The Group's competitive advantage lies in its experienced management team and
capital-light business model, which enables it to offer an end-to-end solution
for investors, delivered entirely in-house with minimal reliance on third
parties, across the entire life cycle of an asset.

 

Watkin Jones was admitted to trading on AIM in March 2016 with the ticker
WJG.L.  For additional information please visit www.watkinjonesplc.com
(http://www.watkinjonesplc.com/)

 

About Hines:

Hines is a global real estate investment, development and property manager.
The firm was founded by Gerald D. Hines in 1957 and now operates in 30
countries. We manage a €87B¹ portfolio of high-performing assets across
residential, logistics, retail, office, and mixed-use strategies. Our local
teams serve 790 properties totaling 25 million square metres globally. We are
committed to a net zero carbon target by 2040 without buying offsets. To
learn more about Hines, visit www.hines.com (http://www.hines.com)  and
follow @Hines on social media.

¹Includes both the global Hines organization as well as RIA AUM as of June
30, 2023.

 

 

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 (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  MSCEAKDXEEFLEFA