PIC completes £60 million investment in university of Essex student accommodation

London, 7 June 2017 – Pension Insurance Corporation plc (“PIC”), a specialist insurer of defined benefit pension funds, has invested £60.6 million in a student accommodation project with the University of Essex, taking the company’s investment in the University’s campus to over £150 million this year. The secured bonds are rated AA by S&P, benefiting from a guarantee by Assured Guaranty. The project sponsor is Uliving, and Bouygues UK Limited is the building contractor. TradeRisks acted as arranger and dealer for the bond issue. In total PIC has invested around £500 million in the student accommodation sector over the past three years.

Key points of the transaction:

• The project is for construction of a 643 bed student housing development on the University of Essex Colchester campus
• The inflation-linked debt structure and amortising profile maturing in 2063 is a good match for PIC’s pension liabilities
• Bonds are rated AA by S&P, benefiting from a guarantee by Assured Guaranty

To date, PIC has invested c.£2.5 billion in direct and bilateral deals, including with providers of student accommodation, universities, renewables and over £700 million in social and affordable housing across the UK. PIC has built up a considerable amount of expertise in both the sourcing and also the ongoing monitoring and risk management of such investments.
Chris Oldham of the University of Essex, said: “We are committed to providing a first-class living and learning experience for the growing number of students who choose to study at the University of Essex. Providing high-quality, purpose-built on-campus accommodation is at the heart of that commitment and we’re pleased this latest development has received financial backing.”

Liz Cain, Senior Debt Origination Manager at Pension Insurance Corporation, said: “This latest investment by PIC in student accommodation builds on an existing relationship with the various parties following an investment of £98m earlier this year to allow refinancing of an existing accommodation block on campus. PIC is a buy and hold investor and these projects work well as there is a long term nominations agreement in place with the university which links to our long term partnership approach. We are delighted to have been able to complete this transaction with the University.”

Notes to Editors:

For further information please contact:

Pension Insurance Corporation

Jeremy Apfel
+44 (0)20 7105 2140                                                                apfel@pensioncorporation.com

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Anthony Silverman
+44 (0)20 7260 2700
anthony.silverman@teneobluerubicon.com

About Pension Insurance Corporation

The purpose of Pension Insurance Corporation plc ("PIC") is to pay the pensions of its policyholders. At year end 2016, PIC had insured 134,900 pension fund members and had £22.6 billion in financial investments, accumulated through the provision of tailored pension insurance buyouts and buy-ins to the trustees and sponsors of UK defined benefit pension schemes. Clients include FTSE 100 companies, multinationals and the public sector. PIC is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority (FRN 454345). For further information please visit www.pensioncorporation.com