Metro Holdings, announced on Jan 29, that its student accommodation fund, Paideia Capital UK Trust, has acquired a property in Bristol, UK, for a consideration £30.1 million ($54.8 million).
The consideration comprises the purchase consideration of the property of £29.4 million and other related fees.
The trust is 30%-owned by Sun Capital Assets, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company.
The remaining 70% of the trust is owned by Lee Kim Tah Holdings, Aurum Investments and a third party.
Aurum Investments is a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of Woh Hup Holdings.
The investment is in the ordinary course of Metro Group’s property investment and development business.
The consideration will be funded by a combination of proceeds from subscription of units in the trust and external borrowings.
SEE: Metro reports 81.9% plunge in 2H20 earnings to $11.3 mil on fair value losses
Dean Street Works is located at the junction of Dean Street and Wilder Street in the St. Pauls area of Bristol, 1.4km from the main campus of the University of Bristol.
The university has a student body of some 27,000 students.
It is about a five-minute drive from Bristol’s city centre and the main shopping district of Broadmead.
The property was completed in August 2020 with 44 studios and 181 en-suite beds over six floors.
Amenities include on-site laundry and secure cycle space.
Dean Street Works currently has an occupancy rate of 100%.
In the same statement, Basilides (DSW) Limited, a newly incorporated indirect subsidiary wholly-owned by the trust (acting through Paideia Trustee Pte. Ltd. as the trustee), has entered into a sales and purchase agreement (SPA) with an independent third party to acquire the whole of registered title in a student accommodation property known as Dean Street Works, Bristol.
The Metro Group’s 30% equity commitment for the property’s gross purchase consideration is about £4.0 million.
It will be funded from internal cash sources and external borrowings.
The above investment is not expected to have any significant effect on the consolidated net tangible asset (NTA) per share and the consolidated earnings per share (EPS) of the Metro Group for the current financial year ending March 31.
Shares in Metro closed 1.5 cents higher or 2.1% up at 74 cents on Jan 29.
