1st Oct 2018 14:48
LONDON (Alliance News) - Moody's investor service on Monday assigned a Baa2 rating to the senior unsecured notes issued by student housing developer Unite Group PLC.
The rating assigned to the senior unsecured notes is in line with Unite's long-term issuer rating of Baa2. The outlook on all ratings is stable.
Moody's said Unite intends to use the proceeds of the notes for general corporate purposes, including funding ongoing developments.
The Baa2 long term issuer rating primarily reflects Unite's "strong" market position, its long standing relationships with British universities and the "high quality" of its portfolio.
Moody's highlighted Unite's "key strengths", including a "favourable" operating environment and a "sizeable pool" of currently unencumbered assets representing 42% of total assets as of June 2018.
Moody's said it views student housing as a "resilient class" in both in terms of rental growth, occupancy and property valuations over the cycle compared to other commercial properties.
The stable outlook factors in the successful completion of the envisaged unsecured notes in line with expectations in terms of size, maturity and costs.
Shares in the FTSE 250-listed company were down 0.3% Monday at 890.00 pence each.
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Unite