TIDMUTG
RNS Number : 4391S
Unite Group PLC
06 November 2019
PRESS RELEASE
6 November 2019
THE UNITE GROUP PLC
('Unite Students', 'Unite', the 'Group', or the 'Company')
CMA APPROVAL FOR THE ACQUISITION OF LIBERTY LIVING
The Unite Group plc, one of the UK's leading owners, managers
and developers of student accommodation, is pleased to announce
that the UK Competition and Markets Authority (the 'CMA') has
unconditionally approved the Company's acquisition of Liberty
Living Group plc ('Liberty Living') for total consideration of
GBP1.4 billion from Liberty Living Holdings Inc. ('CPPIB Holdco'),
a wholly owned subsidiary of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board
(the 'Acquisition').
Following the CMA's approval, completion of the Acquisition is
expected to occur at the end of November 2019, subject to
satisfaction of the remaining conditions. Subject to completion,
approximately 72.6 million consideration shares (the 'Consideration
Shares') will be issued to CPPIB Holdco by Unite in connection with
the Acquisition representing 20% of Unite's enlarged share capital
(the 'Enlarged Group'). Applications will be made to the Financial
Conduct Authority and to the London Stock Exchange for admission of
the Consideration Shares. It is expected that admission of the
Consideration Shares will become effective at 8.00 a.m. on the
business day following completion.
The Company will publish a prospectus in relation to the
admission of the Consideration Shares (the 'Prospectus'), which
will be filed with the FCA and made available to the public in
accordance with the Prospectus Regulation Rules. The Company
expects to publish the Prospectus in due course.
Upon completion, CPPIB Holdco will have the right to appoint one
non-executive director to the board of directors of Unite (the
'Board') in connection with its 20% shareholding in the Enlarged
Group. CPPIB Holdco has nominated Thomas Jackson to join the Board
as a non-executive director effective from completion.
The Company remains confident, based on this timetable, of
delivering the previously outlined cost synergies of GBP4 million
in 2020 and GBP15 million p.a. from 2021.
Richard Smith, Chief Executive of Unite Students, commented:
"We are delighted that our acquisition of Liberty Living has
been approved by the CMA. This is a transformative acquisition
which brings together the best of two companies with a wealth of
expertise and experience in delivering for students and university
partners. The enlarged group will be well positioned to meet the
growing need for affordable, high quality student accommodation in
university towns and cities where demand is strong.
This, combined with our best-in-class operating platform, will
mean more choice for universities and an enhanced service and
welfare offer for students."
ENDS
For further information, please contact:
Unite Students
Richard Smith / Joe Lister / Paul Richmond Tel: +44 117 302 7005
Powerscourt
Justin Griffiths Tel: +44 20 7250 1446
About Unite Students
Unite Students is one of the UK's largest owners, managers and
developers of purpose-built student accommodation serving the
country's world-leading higher education sector. We currently
provide homes for almost 50,000 students in circa 130 properties
across 22 leading university towns and cities in England and
Scotland. Unite also has a strong development pipeline, which will
deliver more than 6,000 beds in the next three years.
Our 1,400 people are driven by a common purpose: to provide the
students who live with us a 'Home for Success' and to be the most
trusted brand in the sector. We do this through quality service,
quality people and quality properties, all designed on the basis of
an excellent insight into students' needs and preferences.
Unite's accommodation is high quality, safe and secure, and
located where students want to live. Students live predominantly in
en-suite study bedrooms with rents covering all bills, insurance,
24-hour security, fortnightly cleaning services and high-speed
Wi-Fi. MyUnite, our mobile app, provides practical support such as
instant messaging and maintenance requests.
Our commitment to customer service is powered by an innovative,
in-house operating platform. It provides a wide range of benefits
to our students, such as an optimised online booking process, as
well as providing us with a unique ability to drive value from our
portfolio through scale efficiencies and revenue management.
Alongside delivering quality service, our other strategic
priority is delivering growing and sustainable earnings,
underpinned by a strong capital structure. A key part of this
strategy is growing the number of beds let through partnerships
with mid and high tariff universities which are experiencing record
levels of student demand. We currently partner with 60 higher
education institutions, guaranteeing that approximately 60% of our
rooms are let under 'nomination agreements' providing high
visibility of forward occupancy and rental growth.
Unite is invested in and operates two specialist funds and joint
ventures with institutional investment partners: the GBP2 billion
Unite UK Student Accommodation Fund (USAF), and the GBP1 billion
London Student Accommodation Vehicle (LSAV).
Unite is the founder of and major donor to the Unite Foundation,
a charitable trust established to support talented students facing
challenging financial circumstances through the provision of free
accommodation annual scholarships. The Foundation has so far
provided scholarships for 250 young people working in close
collaboration with 29 partner universities.
Founded in 1991 in Bristol, Unite Group is an award-winning Real
Estate Investment Trust (REIT), listed on the London Stock Exchange
and a member of the FTSE 250 Index.
For more information, please visit Unite's corporate website
www.unite-group.co.uk, the student site www.unite-students.com or
the Unite Foundation www.unitefoundation.co.uk
IMPORTANT NOTICE
This announcement is for information purposes only and shall not
constitute an offer to sell or issue or the solicitation of an
offer to buy, subscribe for or otherwise acquire securities in any
jurisdiction in which any such offer or solicitation would be
unlawful. Any failure to comply with this restriction may
constitute a violation of the securities laws of such
jurisdictions.
This announcement may contain "forward-looking statements" with
respect to certain of the Company's plans and its current goals and
expectations relating to its future financial condition,
performance, strategic initiatives, objectives and results.
Forward-looking statements sometimes use words such as "aim",
"anticipate", "target", "expect", "estimate", "intend", "plan",
"goal", "believe", "seek", "may", "could", "outlook" or other words
of similar meaning. By their nature, all forward-looking statements
involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to future events
and circumstances which are or may be beyond the control of Unite
and/or Liberty Living and which could cause actual results of
trends to differ materially. Any forward-looking statements made in
this announcement by or on behalf of the Company speak only as of
the date they are made. Except as required by applicable law or
regulation, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation or
undertaking to publish any updates or revisions to any
forward-looking statements contained in this announcement to
reflect any changes in the Company's expectations with regard
thereto or any changes in events, conditions or circumstances on
which any such statement is based.
No statement in this announcement is intended to be a profit
forecast, and no statement in this announcement should be
interpreted to mean that earnings or earnings per share of Unite or
Liberty Living for the current or future financial years would
necessarily match or exceed the historical published earnings or
earnings per share of Unite or Liberty Living.
Neither the content of the Company's website nor any website
accessible by hyperlinks on the Company's website is incorporated
in, or forms part of, this announcement.
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
MSCUGGWGGUPBUMQ
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