WJG Watkin Jones Plc

Watkin Jones plc

('Watkin Jones' or the 'Group')

Forward Sale of PBSA Development in Bristol

Watkin Jones is pleased to announce the forward sale of a new 260 bed PBSA ('Purpose Built Student Accommodation') development at Gas Lane in Bristol to Hines, acquiring on behalf of the Hines European Property Partners Fund ('HEPP').

The contribution from this sale is reflected in the Group's current financial guidance, with an overall scheme margin expected to be in line with current target returns.  The transaction will generate day one cash receipts of c. £11 million, net of repayment of the associated debt of c.£5 million.

As part of Bristol Temple Quarter, one of the UK's largest urban regeneration zones, it will transform the current brownfield site at Gas Lane into a new student community, helping to support the new University of Bristol Temple Quarter campus. The scheme is targeted to complete in time for the start of the 2025/26 academic year.

Alex Pease, CEO of Watkin Jones, commented: "We are delighted to announce the forward sale of this student accommodation development. This is our first transaction with Hines and we look forward to working with such a highly-regarded partner going forward.

"This transaction gives us confidence that sentiment in the institutional market continues to recover. As the market shows further signs of improvement, we are well-positioned to capitalize on this given our position in PBSA and Build to Rent, two of the most attractive asset classes in real estate."

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This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 as it forms part of UK Domestic Law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("UK MAR")

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Notes to Editors

Watkin Jones is the UK's leading developer and manager of residential for rent, with a focus on the build to rent, student accommodation and affordable housing sectors. The Group has strong relationships with institutional investors, and a reputation for successful, on-time-delivery of high-quality developments. Since 1999, Watkin Jones has delivered over 49,000 student beds across 147 schemes, making it a key player and leader in the UK purpose-built student accommodation market, and is increasingly expanding its operations into the build to rent sector. In addition, Fresh, the Group's specialist accommodation management business, manages over 16,800 student beds and build to rent apartments on behalf of its institutional clients. Watkin Jones has also been responsible for over 50 residential developments, ranging from starter homes to executive housing and apartments.

The Group's competitive advantage lies in its experienced management team and capital-light business model, which enables it to offer an end-to-end solution for investors, delivered entirely in-house with minimal reliance on third parties, across the entire life cycle of an asset.

Watkin Jones was admitted to trading on AIM in March 2016 with the ticker WJG.L.  For additional information please visit www.watkinjonesplc.com

About Hines: 

Hines is a global real estate investment, development and property manager. The firm was founded by Gerald D. Hines in 1957 and now operates in 30 countries. We manage a €87B¹ portfolio of high-performing assets across residential, logistics, retail, office, and mixed-use strategies. Our local teams serve 790 properties totaling 25 million square metres globally. We are committed to a net zero carbon target by 2040 without buying offsets. To learn more about Hines, visit www.hines.com and follow @Hines on social media.

¹Includes both the global Hines organization as well as RIA AUM as of June 30, 2023.