Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) has extended its student accommodation development partnership with University Partnerships Programme (UPP) with a £125m (€138.5m) investment.

PIC, an insurer of defined benefit pension funds, said the loan will allow UPP to design, build, fund and operate 1,182 affordable bedrooms for the University of Exeter.

The latest transaction is the sixth deal that PIC and UPP have worked together on a bilateral basis, taking the total PIC has invested directly in UPP schemes to £530m. The first transaction was in 2014.

In total, PIC’s investments with UPP have helped fund the development of over 6,000 student rooms across the country.

Richard Bienfait, the group CEO at UPP, said: “We are delighted once again to be working with PIC who are a reliable and flexible partner for us and have demonstrated a clear commitment to the higher education sector and its need for high-quality facilities.”

Florence Carasse, the debt origination manager at Pension Insurance Corporation, said: “This investment is another step in our long-term relationship with UPP, which has seen us invest in some of the leading universities in the UK.

“The emphasis we have in our portfolio is to ensure the cash-flows are secure and will be there to meet our pension liabilities. We therefore always seek to invest in high-quality institutions and to work with knowledgeable and experienced partners, like UPP.”

To date, PIC has invested £1.2bn in the university sector around the country.

Previous investments with UPP have included accommodation at Swansea University, the University of London and at the University of Kent.

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