Watkin Jones plc (LON:WJG), a leading UK developer and constructor of multi occupancy property assets, with a focus on the student accommodation sector, this morning announced that the Group has exchanged contracts to forward sell a 618 student bed development in Pittodrie, Aberdeen to an unnamed institutional investor. The consideration payable to Watkin Jones over the course of the development, which is due for completion in the summer of 2019, is circa GBP51.1 million, net of client funding costs.
Following this agreement, Watkin Jones have now forward sold 2,599 of the 3,545 beds planned to be delivered during FY19, ahead of the 2019/2020 academic year. All schemes planned to be delivered during FY17 have been successfully handed over and all schemes due to be delivered during FY18 and ahead of the 2018/19 academic year have been forward sold.
In addition, the Group is also pleased to announce the forward sale of the office element of the major project on Christchurch Road, Bournemouth for GBP15.3 million, net of client funding costs. This forward sale completes the exit for the Group of the Christchurch Road development. This included 454 beds of student accommodation, which were completed and handed over in August 2017, as well as 129 hotel rooms for Premier Inn that has been forward sold. Completion of the Premier Inn is targeted for January 2018 and the office building for May 2018.
Mark Watkin Jones, Chief Executive Officer of Watkin Jones plc, said: “We are delighted to announce that we have successfully completed the forward sale of a further two developments.
“The demand for high quality purpose built student accommodation remains strong and the Group continues to secure, forward sell and develop a diverse pipeline of high quality sites, providing excellent earnings visibility for our shareholders.”
