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Unite completes its asset recycling for the year

Unite sells Woburn Place as the final part of its planned £150m-£200m recycling plan
March 8, 2017

Student accommodation provider Unite (UTG) has exchanged contracts on the sale of Woburn Place in London for £135m. Unite's share of this will be £67.5m as Woburn Place is held within its LSAV joint venture with the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation. The price equates to a value of £316,000 per bedroom and a net initial yield of 4.5 per cent, a premium of some 6 per cent to book value.

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The 427-bedroom disposal is another step in Unite's move to crystallise gains on high-valued assets, and the sale substantially completes plans to recycle £150m-£200m of assets in 2017. As a result of the disposal, the group's loan-to-value ratio will fall to 32 per cent. The proceeds will be used to fund the development pipeline, which includes the recently acquired Aston Student Village, the first on-campus property it has bought.