Unite Share Discussion Threads

[maddox] 19/8/2014 12:05

Hi rochdae,

It appears so. I've always found this curious - in a country obsessed with property and property prices that Unite a student accomodation provider hasn't attracted a more numerous (or at least visible) private investor base of followers?

OK - If there is anyone else following, reading but not posting - how about just saying Hi! It would be nice to know.

Incidently, another nice rise today up 6.5p at 431p as I post.

Cheers Maddox

[rochdae] 16/8/2014 22:55

Thanks Maddox,

Yes, I agree, so much good news here not reflected in the share price. Move over £5 this year I think. What a great business.

Only me and you on this thread it seems.

Roch

[maddox] 15/8/2014 13:29

Hi guys,

Great spike-up today - up 9.2p 2.2% to 423p as I post. The student numbers are looking good for the next academic year and we've had a few broker up-grades as well - so perhaps that's re-awakened interest?

'UNITE Group plc (LON:UTG) has received a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the ten analysts that are presently covering the stock, Analyst Ratings Net reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is GBX 473 ($7.93).

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on UTG shares. Analysts at Liberum Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of UNITE Group plc in a research note on Tuesday. They now have a GBX 516 ($8.66) price target on the stock. Separately, analysts at Jefferies Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of UNITE Group plc in a research note on Tuesday. They now have a GBX 513 ($8.61) price target on the stock.'




MARKET REPORT: Good news for Unite as record number of students heads to universityBy Geoff Foster
Read more:

Regards, Maddox

[maddox] 11/7/2014 12:30

Hi rochdae,

Yep, fantastic acquisition. They've previously looked at student accommodation portfolios on sale but haven't liked the pricing - this is an good price and an excellent fit with the rest of the portfolio.

Also, seems that the market likes it - nice rise in the share price.

Regards, Maddox

[rochdae] 10/7/2014 16:00

Another great acquisition... and nice rise in NAV...

[rochdae] 05/6/2014 11:51

Just patience and watch your profits grow here...

[maddox] 25/4/2014 16:49

Hi Roch,

I don't read the tea leaves either. The volatility of UTG is of little concern. I topped up with the open offer and now fully invested. Sitting back in full expectation of the management team's excellent execution of their plan. This share is not going to keep you awake at night.

I also like QED - trading at a small discount to NAV. I'm expecting reinstatement of their dividends soon. That will change perceptions and push the share price up.

Cheers, Maddox

[rochdae] 22/4/2014 23:32

Don't know about the dead cross stuff, but utg a good growing business...

Roch

[high park] 07/4/2014 21:11

Dead cross forming, but is this a repeat of September?



Very similar graph to QED.

[maddox] 31/3/2014 11:06

Unite's placing and open offer has been a great success. Huge credit is due to Unite for allowing their Personal Investors the opportunity to participate through the Open Offer. Well done Unite!

All to often PIs are ignored - just left with their shareholding diluted and feeling resentful that their support to the business has not been recognised. PI's play an important role in the market in providing liquidity and setting the share price. This should be more widely reccognised.

Unite has invested a slug of the capital raised into its own fund - Unite Student Accommodation Fund (USAF). Which considering USAF delivered a total return of 12.6% in 2013 and has been among the top performing funds in the IPD Specialist Funds index over the past five years, makes sense. It is clearly also a vote of confidence on its future performance.

Commenting on the transaction (investment into USAF), Joe Lister, UNITE's Chief Financial Officer, said:

"We are very pleased with the successful conclusion to USAF's capital raising and are delighted to be increasing our own stake in the Fund to 21%, demonstrating our confidence in the longer term prospects for the Fund's high quality portfolio. The positive response of existing and new institutional investors shows the increasing appeal of student accommodation as an investment asset class and USAF's position as the pre-eminent fund in the sector.

"The Fund will initially use the proceeds to reduce leverage but will also be considering acquisition opportunities."

Cheers, Maddox

[maddox] 16/3/2014 23:41

Investor's Chronicle 14 March. Unite open offer verdict - take-up.

'Unite looks well supported by robust demand. That leaves the open offer worth taking up, but the shares - at 434p and trading on a modest premium to forecast NAV - are also worth buying'

...even more modest now at 421p.

Money where mouth is - taking up open offer in full.

Cheers, Maddox

[transishi] 13/3/2014 10:13

Cheers maddox, got in yesterday at 418, hopefully will be in the blue by mid nxt wk.Dyor gla

[maddox] 12/3/2014 09:15

Hi Transishi,

Great to have more followers on here. The news of the Open Offer should already be reflected in the price. However, predicting short-term price movements is a dangerous game.

It'll be no surprize that I'm seeing UTG as a strong buy with excellent mid and long-term investment. Clearly, more supply is being created and the question is whether there is sufficient immediate demand to absorb them all. IMHO the liklihood is that this will present an opportunity to get in at a good price.

Cheers Maddox

[transishi] 11/3/2014 23:25

looks like the extra 50mil in 2012 was from a one off asset release:

www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/questor/10681706/Questor-share-tip-Back-Unites-100m-expansion.html

DYOR

[sinkersimon] 11/3/2014 09:15

Bit concerned that the profit has dropped from £127m (2012) to £79m (2013). Anyone seen an explanation for this?

[transishi] 10/3/2014 22:44

I'm very interested in utg after finding them through some chart screening and then viewing the latest results, I see there is a 410p open offer coming late this month, does anyone expect the share price to converge towards this or is it better to get in now ? I'm thinking longterm but always nice to be in profit as soon as poss.

Cheers

[maddox] 07/3/2014 16:15

Hi rochdae, gswredland,

Yes, excellent to get included - rare event for PIs to participate in a fund raising. The offer shares have just appeared in my account just awaiting the accompanying message to give me the details.

Considering I've been thinking of topping up its pretty much a no-brainer.

Cheers Maddox

[gswredland] 06/3/2014 20:12

at least us mere mortals get a chance at the offer!

[rochdae] 06/3/2014 16:16

Yes, Maddox, happy with today's RNS....

[maddox] 06/3/2014 08:25

Excellent results, progress on all fronts,the development pipeline is accelerating, and outlook better than ever. Really impressive performance on costs and efficiency, whilst customer satisfaction increased.

The webcast recording is available here:

These results fully justify the share price rise we have seen. However, they are taking advantage of the strong share price to place more shares at 410p so the shares are off ~7p at 442p as I type. Half of the cash will be used to fund the regional development opportunity, the other half will be used to acquire an increase in their own Unite Student Accommodation Fund from 16% - 22%. So this should be value enhancing rather than a dilution.

Cheers, Maddox

[rochdae] 24/2/2014 20:47

Another great strategic purchase. Share price gathering speed...

[gswredland] 11/2/2014 18:50

Chart looking really good

[maddox] 11/2/2014 13:54

Unite have announced today that they have completed their refinancing programme with a new debt facility of £124m 10 years fixed.

'This new loan is secured against four of UNITE's wholly owned portfolio at 50% loan-to-value and extends the Group's average debt maturity to seven years at an average cost of debt of 4.7%. It furthers UNITE's objective of extending debt maturities, reducing the cost of funding and diversifying funding sources and introducing new lenders to the Group, with over two-thirds of the Group's debt now provided from non-bank-sources.'

I particularly welcome the diversification away from reliance on bank finance. Just recently I've suffered a 100% loss due to the HSBC pushing one of my investments into a financial collapse. I along with many other investors are completely in the dark as to why they withdrew their financial support - only having recently confirmed it. The less fickle bank sourced captial the better as far I'm concerned.

Another tick in the box for Unite.

Maddox

[rochdae] 10/2/2014 14:56

Nice rise here....

[maddox] 06/2/2014 17:25

Hi Roch,

Agreed. Unite are making great progress deploying their new funds executing their regional strategy. These sites sound particularly well sited in attractive central locations. This announcement is almost the equivalent of a trading update and provides transparency into the delivery of NAV growth over the next two years.

Cheers Maddox