The net asset value of the Unite Student Accommodation Fund was GBP678.5m at 31 December 2012, reflecting an increase of 1.3 per cent during the fourth quarter and an uplift of 8.7 per cent over the past 12 months.
The total return for the year including the payment of income distributions was 14.2 per cent.
In arriving at the value of the fund, its property portfolio, which comprises 21,826 beds in 60 properties across 20 UK towns and cities, was independently valued at GBP1,320m. During the quarter the fund acquired an asset in Glasgow comprising 477 beds for GBP31m.
The value of the assets held throughout the quarter increased by 0.4 per cent due to rental growth since 30 September 2012. In the 12 months to 31 December 2012, the value of the property portfolio held by the fund increased, on a like for like basis, by 3.0 per cent, again driven principally by rental growth.
The increase in the value of the property portfolio in the quarter, after taking account of lifecycle expenditure and gearing resulted in 0.5 per cent growth in the NAV as outlined in the table above.
Average valuation yields increased by 1bps during the quarter to 6.68 per cent.
In October, the fund received a further payment of GBP1.76m from Landsbanki, representing the second instalment of repayment of the GBP30m deposit it placed with the bank in 2008. The fund provided for the full amount of the deposit in 2008 and, therefore, the recovery added to the growth in NAV by 0.3 per cent in the quarter. During 2012 the fund received a total of GBP14.23m of cash from Landsbanki, adding 2.3 per cent to the annual total return.
Joe Lister, Unite’s chief financial officer, says: “USAF has delivered another strong performance in 2012 with a total return of 14.2 per cent. These consistently strong results, against a challenging economic backdrop, demonstrate the continued attractiveness of USAF and the student accommodation sector to UK and overseas investors.”