The Board is pleased to announce that the Group has successfully achieved its operational objectives for the period and that it expects to report underlying earnings for the financial year in line with its expectations.
In the period Watkin Jones delivered, ahead of the 2017/18 academic year, ten student accommodation developments across the UK with a total of 3,314 beds. All ten student accommodation developments (3,415 beds) scheduled for delivery in FY18, ahead of the 2018/2019 academic year, have been forward sold and are on track. Looking to FY19, the Group has already forward sold five student accommodation developments (2,599 beds) for delivery ahead of the 2019/20 academic year. In addition to these forward sold developments, Watkin Jones has a further eight secured development sites (2,959 beds) targeted for delivery during FY19 to FY21.
Watkin Jones is continuing to gain momentum in the Build to Rent sector. The Group has ownership of three development sites and is in separate negotiations on several other opportunities, from which it is targeting to develop approximately 1,500 units during FY18 to FY22, subject to securing the necessary planning consents. The Board is encouraged by both the Group's progress in securing Build to Rent opportunities and the prospects for growth in this market going forward.
Fresh Property Group, the Group's accommodation management subsidiary which trades under the brand names of Fresh Student Living and Five Nine Living, performed in line with the Board's expectations for the period and now has 16,082 student beds across 53 schemes under management for the 2017/18 academic year (12,337 student beds under management at the start of the 2016/17 academic year across 44 schemes).
Investor demand for purpose built student accommodation remains strong and the Group's robust development pipeline continues to provide strong future visibility of earnings and cash flows. The Group is well positioned to expand its operations into the Build to Rent sector as further sites and opportunities are being secured and investor appetite gathers momentum. As a result, the Board remains confident in the future outlook for the Group.
Mark Watkin Jones, Chief Executive Officer of Watkin Jones plc, said: “We are pleased to have delivered on our development pipeline objectives for the year, alongside a strong operational performance and expect to report underlying earnings in line with the Board's expectations.
2017 has been another year of significant progress for the Group with our student accommodation, Build to Rent and accommodation management divisions all performing strongly, providing us with excellent future earnings and cash flow visibility. This demonstrates the robustness of our model and ability to deliver significant returns for our shareholders.”
The Group will be announcing its Final Results on Monday, 15 January 2018. An analyst briefing will be held at 09.30hrs at the offices of Buchanan, 107 Cheapside, London EC2V 6DN.