Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) has provided a £150m (€175m) senior loan to student housing operator Unite, secured against 10 purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) assets across the UK.
The loan, issued by LGIM’s real estate debt division, will be used to refinance an existing bank facility for the Unite UK Student Accommodation Fund (USAF), which matured in Q1 2024.
The funding follows on from a £400m LGIM loan in July 2023 which was used to refinance a public bond for USAF.
James Spencer-Jones, head of real estate debt Europe at LGIM, said: “We are delighted to continue building on our long-standing relationship with Unite Group. We see continued resilience within the PBSA sector, driven by strong investment and occupational fundamentals
“This funding delivers both flexibility for USAF whilst retaining strong structural capabilities and investment characteristics for our investors. The financing continues our pivot into high conviction subsectors and further growth of LGIM Real Estate Debt’s loan book.”
Gary Leadbeater, director of group treasury and financial planning and analysis at Unite Group, said: “This transaction is a further endorsement of the leadership credentials of both parties within the sector, further demonstrating the strength of our relationship with LGIM.”
Unite said it was the largest UK PBSA operator and that USAF was the UK’s largest specialist student accommodation fund with 28,000 beds under management.
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