Watkin Jones plc Forward Sale in Bournemouth (0461W)
February 06 2017 - 1:00AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMWJG
RNS Number : 0461W
Watkin Jones plc
06 February 2017
For immediate release 6 February 2017
Watkin Jones plc
('Watkin Jones' or the 'Group')
Forward Sale in Bournemouth
Watkin Jones plc (AIM:WJG), a leading UK developer and
constructor of multi occupancy property assets, with a focus on the
student accommodation sector, is pleased to announce that further
to the positive update on developments announced on 22 December
2016 and its 2016 full year results announcement on 18 January
2017, the Group has completed the forward sale of the student
accommodation element of its Christchurch Road development in
Bournemouth.
The sale has been made to an institutional investor for an
undisclosed fee, with the development consisting of 454 beds of
student accommodation (437 ensuite clusters and 17 self-contained
studios). The development is due for completion in the summer of
2017 ahead of the academic year. Following this transaction, all of
the Group's student accommodation developments due for delivery
before the end of the current financial year have been forward
sold, while 1,840 of the 3,485 beds due for delivery in 2018 have
been pre-sold and a further 1,530 have planning permission.
Mark Watkin Jones, Chief Executive Officer of Watkin Jones plc,
said: "We are delighted to announce that we have successfully
completed the sale of the student accommodation development at
Christchurch Road in Bournemouth. Having now forward sold all of
our projects which are due for delivery in the current financial
year, the Group has demonstrated its strong relationships with
institutional investors and its ability to provide good visibility
on near term returns for its shareholders."
- Ends -
For further information:
Watkin Jones plc
Mark Watkin Jones, Chief Tel: +44 (0) 1248 362
Executive Officer 516
Phil Byrom, Chief Financial www.watkinjonesplc.com
Officer
Zeus Capital Limited (Nominated
Adviser & Joint Broker)
Corporate Finance
Dan Bate / Jamie Peel Tel: +44 (0) 161
831 1512
Corporate Broking Tel: +44 (0) 20 3829
5000
Dominic King / Benjamin Robertson www.zeuscapital.co.uk
Peel Hunt LLP (Joint Broker) Tel: +44 (0) 20 7418
8900
Mike Bell / Matthew Brooke-Hitching www.peelhunt.com
Media enquiries:
Buchanan
Henry Harrison-Topham / Richard Tel: +44 (0) 20 7466 5000
Oldworth / Jamie Hooper
watkinjones@buchanan.uk.com www.buchanan.uk.com
Notes to Editors
Watkin Jones is a leading UK developer and constructor of multi
occupancy property assets, with a focus on the student
accommodation sector. The Group has strong relationships with
institutional investors, and a good reputation for successful,
on-time-delivery of high quality developments. Since 1999, Watkin
Jones has delivered over 31,800 student beds across 98 sites,
making it a key player and leader in the UK purpose built student
accommodation market. In addition, Watkin Jones has 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 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. Key components of the business model are:
-- Site identification - extensive experience of site
identification and acquisition facilitates high quality sites being
acquired;
-- Planning consents - in depth knowledge and experience of the
planning consent process specific to this type of asset facilitates
high success rates on planning applications;
-- In-house construction and delivery - in-house construction
expertise, management and delivery limits reliance on third parties
and, together with favourable contractual relationships with key
suppliers, enhances control of cost;
-- Funding structure - forward sale model reduces risk for
Watkin Jones and provides security and visibility of the asset
pipeline for investors. The Group has strong relationships with
blue chip investors, including a number that are repeat investors
in Watkin Jones developments; and
-- Asset management - dedicated property management division
provides a continued service solution to investors post development
completion and completes the 'end to end' business model.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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