On the go: Pension Insurance Corporation has completed an additional £125m investment with University Partnerships Programme, allowing UPP to design, build, fund and operate affordable accommodation for the University of Exeter.
UPP is a provider of on-campus residential and academic accommodation infrastructure. The deal follows a £37m investment by PIC last year to fund UPP’s development of 382 new student bedrooms for the University of Exeter’s Moberly and Spreytonway projects.
This more recent £125m investment will lead to the development of 1,182 high-quality and affordable bedrooms for the university.
The transaction marks the sixth time that PIC and UPP have worked together on a bilateral basis, taking the total PIC has invested directly in UPP schemes to around £530m.
To date, PIC has invested £1.2bn in the university sector across the country.
The transaction is a long-dated, inflation-linked loan, which matures in 2066. It provides stable, regular long-term cash flows, and there is a delayed drawdown structure to match the construction programme and reduce interest costs for the borrower.
Florence Carasse, debt origination manager at PIC, said: “This investment is another step in our long-term relationship with UPP, which has seen us invest in some of the leading universities in the UK.
"The emphasis we have in our portfolio is to ensure the cash flows are secure and will be there to meet our pension liabilities. We therefore always seek to invest in high-quality institutions and to work with knowledgable and experienced partners, like UPP.”
