The Watkin Jones Group is one of the UK's leading developers of student accommodation with a reputation for consistently delivering high quality accommodation, on time, and to budget.
UK wide, our portfolio of developments range from purpose-built cluster flats and studios, to refurbishment projects and mixed-use schemes. Strategic choice of locations, coupled with cutting-edge design and exceptional build quality are the cornerstones of our success.

Today's students demand quality, affordability and exceptional connectivity with easy links to learning and leisure facilities as standard. This is an exacting combination but this is precisely the accommodation we deliver in prime locations nationwide.

Since 1999 we have developed more than 25,000 student units and have an in-depth understanding of this resilient property sector.

Company Website

Financial Calendar

Recent Broker notes

BarChart Indicators

Recent Market news

Watkin Jones Group Fundamentals (WJG)

Planning Update on Developments

Watkin Jones plc (AIM:WJG), a leading UK developer and constructor of multi occupancy property assets, with a focus on the student accommodation and build to rent sectors, is pleased to announce the receipt of a number of planning consents during December 2017.

Student Accommodation

Building on momentum gained in the 2017 financial year, Watkin Jones confirms it has achieved planning consent for two student accommodation developments in London. The first of these is for a 283 bed development at Albion Way in Wembley. The second scheme is a 353 bed development at Forest Road in Walthamstow, close to the Group's Mannequin House site which was successfully completed in August 2017. In addition to the London schemes, the Group has also secured planning consent for a 323 bed development in Chester. All of the above-mentioned student accommodation developments are anticipated to be completed in 2020 ahead of the 2020-21 academic year.

General momentum within the Group's student accommodation division is excellent, with the overall current pipeline standing at 9,120 beds, of which 6,090 beds are forward sold and 7,497 have achieved planning consent.


Build to Rent

The build to rent division continues to progress well and Watkin Jones is pleased to announce that it has secured planning consents on three developments. These encompass 147 units at the Group's site at Holdenhurst Road, Bournemouth, an increase from 132 to 165 units on its Sutton site and 62 units on its site at Stepney Street, Sheffield adjacent to its completed 78 unit scheme.


In addition to the progress made on these three sites, the Group is pleased to announce that it has exchanged contracts on a build to rent development site in Uxbridge, which subject to planning consent, will deliver approximately 270 units.


Mark Watkin Jones, Chief Executive Officer of Watkin Jones plc, said: "The Group is continuing to deliver in the UK student accommodation sector and these schemes will increase our presence in key markets nationally, including our first site in West London.


"Build to rent is progressing well and we are extremely pleased with this division's performance in its maiden year. The additional planning consents and securing of the site in Uxbridge strengthens our pipeline as we continue to target the development of approximately 1,500 units between FY18 and FY22."


As previously announced, the Group will be issuing 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.

- Ends -

Beaufort Securities Speculative Buy 221.00 225.00 225.00 Reiterates

Worth more I'm sure!

Full year results

CEO succession


Watkin Jones plc (AIM:WJG), a leading UK developer and constructor of multi occupancy property assets, with a focus on the student accommodation and build to rent sectors, today announces that Mark Watkin Jones has notified the Board of his intention to stand down as the Group's Chief Executive Officer once a suitable successor has been appointed, following an orderly handover period. For personal reasons, Mark is not able to undertake a full time executive role over the longer term and he and the Board believe that it is in the Group's best interests to recruit a successor.

The Board will initiate a formal search process to identify a new Chief Executive Officer and a succession timetable will be announced once this process has been concluded. The Board is keen to retain the benefit of Mark's valuable knowledge and experience and the intention is that, following the transition, the Board will look at how this might be achieved, including the option of him becoming a Non-Executive Director of Watkin Jones.

Under Mark's leadership, Watkin Jones has gone through a transformational period, a key part of which has been the establishment and development of a strong senior management team capable of supporting the Group's long-term growth aspirations. The Board will be seeking a successor to Mark who can build on this platform and maintain the Group's track record of profitable, cash generative growth.

Mark Watkin Jones, Chief Executive Officer of Watkin Jones plc, said: "After careful consideration I have decided that it is necessary for me to step back from my position as Chief Executive Officer. The Group has reported record results today and with excellent earnings visibility, Watkin Jones is in a strong position to achieve continued success in both student accommodation and build to rent. Solid foundations are in place for my successor to work with, including an excellent management team that has supported me over the years in successfully growing the business and who will continue to drive Watkin Jones forward for the long-term benefit of our shareholders."

Grenville Turner, Non-Executive Chairman of Watkin Jones plc, said: "After 15 successful years at the helm, the Board understands Mark's desire to relinquish the CEO position and the associated demands of this role. Mark has played a pivotal part in shaping the Watkin Jones strategy and success and has built an experienced and stable leadership team who have increasingly taken on the day-to-day responsibility for the running of the business. The Board would like to thank Mark for his enormous contribution and is also delighted that he has indicated his willingness to continue to support his successor and the business going forward. The search for a successor will commence immediately and we will make a further announcement upon completion of the formal search process."

- Ends -

Peel Hunt Buy 0.00 230.00 230.00 Reiterates

Interesting developments today. Hmm.

Float the company.

Do a good job post flotation

And retire I should think

Good luck to him

Absolutely!!

The company has seen good growth and forward earnings are decent ........ but what after that?

Al. Here's my take. I'm missed out on this one completely mostly as half my portfolio is construction stocks and I couldn't add any more.

I've know this company for 25 years from the days they were entirely based in Wales building fairly standard stuff.

They've done incredibly well and the moment they floated the company I perceived this was the route to exit as there was no way the Watkin Jones family was going to have the responsibilities of being on the stock market unless they were getting something out of it.


I kind of feel the stock has had it's day now and if we want to make big money it's time to find the next Watkin Jones. However, I do think this is the right sector at the right time as the economy is coming back and the demise of Carillion will completely change margins for the better. I wouldn't blame anyone for staying with this trade.

I like the sector as I said. I have CTO, NMD and SFR having sold all my TW. and PSN.

I also have LWB which is a supplier to the sector, which has just come off the recent low if you like catching knifes.

A number of the other construction companies have pulled back a bit on the Carillion news. So, far I've looked at VANL, SDY and PTSG. I don't like any of them at their current prices.

Woodford Investment Management Ltd > 13%

CC - I was in and out of this quite quickly last summer and they're not much higher now than when I got out. Of course, they have been higher!! At the time I also held CLLN in the SIPP. Luckily saw the light just before the big drop, but took a loss anyway. I still hold TW. though. Had them since 26p so the yield in the SIPP is high given the current divi. Not inclined to dump them just yet whilst that's available. They've paid for themselves many times over obviously.

Just not sure where WJG go from here. Stunning run, but you always wonder when someone so close to an outfit bails after that kind of action. Not inclined to get back in.

Annual Report and Notice of AGM

Watkin Jones plc (AIM:WJG), a leading UK developer and constructor of multi occupancy property assets, with a focus on the student accommodation and build to rent sectors, announces that electronic copies of its Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 30 September 2017 together with the Notice of Annual General Meeting and Form of Proxy will be available from the Company's investor relations website at www.watkinjonesplc.com on Monday, 22 January 2018. Hard copies of the 2017 Annual Report and Accounts, Notice of Annual General Meeting and Form of Proxy will be posted to shareholders today.

The Company's Annual General Meeting will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, 13 February 2018 at the offices of Buchanan, 107 Cheapside, London EC2V 6DN.

- Ends -

Octopus Investments ---> 6.4%

AGM today.

Result of Annual General Meeting

Watkin Jones plc (AIM:WJG), a leading UK developer and constructor of multi occupancy property assets, with a focus on the student accommodation and build to rent sectors, announces that at the Company's Annual General Meeting held earlier today in London, all resolutions put to shareholders were duly passed.

- Ends -

Director Shareholding

Watkin Jones plc (AIM:WJG), a leading UK developer and constructor of multi occupancy property assets, with a focus on the student accommodation and build to rent sectors, announces that Mark Watkin Jones (CEO) has today sold 3,825,000 ordinary shares of one penny each in the Company, representing approximately 1.5% of the issued share capital, in order to facilitate final settlement of divorce proceedings. Following the trade, Mark Watkin Jones holds 3,825,000 ordinary shares, which are subject to a lock-up expiring in 180 days from today, and the Watkin Jones Family* continue to hold, in total, 70,584,407 ordinary shares representing 27.64% of the issued share capital.

14:51:54 195.0000 3,825,000 O 199.4000 201.0000 Sell 20,768 3,856,873

This maybe ties in with his retreat from day to day running of the Co , wants a bit of life back .

That's quite a bit of life!😃

Pre-Close Trading Statement

Watkin Jones plc (AIM:WJG), a leading UK developer and constructor of multi occupancy property assets, with a focus on the student accommodation and build to rent sectors, announces its pre-close trading statement for the half year ended 31 March 2018 (the 'period').

The Board is pleased to report a strong trading performance in the first six months of the financial year, in line with its expectations.

Student Accommodation

In the period, good progress has been made in the student accommodation development business. As announced on 23 March 2018, Watkin Jones has now secured a development pipeline in excess of 9,800 beds, with over 8,300 beds having already received planning consent. All the developments due for delivery ahead of the 2018/19 academic year (3,415 beds) and a further five schemes (2,675 beds) currently scheduled to be delivered ahead of the 2019/20 academic year have been forward sold. The Group is actively marketing a number of further schemes scheduled to be delivered ahead of both the 2019/20 and 2020/21 academic years and is seeking to secure forward sales for these developments in the second half of the financial year.

Build to Rent

The Group has continued to push forward with a number of opportunities in the build to rent sector. In the first half of the year, planning consents have been secured for three sites located in Bournemouth, Sheffield and Sutton, increasing the pipeline of owned sites with planning to approximately 700 units. The Group has also secured a significant development site in Uxbridge and is progressing the planning consent. In total, the Group is now in control of five build to rent development sites and remains in positive negotiations on several other opportunities, from which it expects to deliver over 1,500 units in the next five years.

Fresh Property Group ('FPG')

FPG currently has 16,185 student accommodation beds and 533 build to rent units under management, across 58 schemes. As advised in the Group's FY17 full year results issued on 15 January 2018, Watkin Jones anticipated that as a consequence of the sale by the Curlew Student Trust ("CST") of a portfolio of 14 schemes (the 'Enigma' portfolio), comprising 5,124 beds, it was likely that the management of the schemes concerned would be taken in house by the new owner. FPG has since agreed to provide full management services for these schemes until 30 April 2018, after which they will continue to provide financial reporting services for the schemes until at least September 2018. FPG will be fully compensated for any difference in the level of fees receivable over the remaining periods of the existing contracts. Excluding the Enigma schemes, FPG is currently contracted to manage 14,016 student accommodation beds from the start of the 2018/19 academic year. The recent successful launch of Curlew Student Trust 2 ('CST2'), an investment vehicle focused on UK student accommodation for which FPG is the preferred property manager, provides an additional opportunity for future business growth. FPG is working with CST2 in appraising several new schemes.

Outlook

The Group's progress in implementing its operational and strategic objectives is encouraging and the Board remains confident in the outlook for the full year and beyond.


Mark Watkin Jones, Chief Executive Officer of Watkin Jones plc, said: "I am delighted with the Group's performance in the period. The outlook for the UK purpose built student accommodation market is positive and demand for our high-quality product remains strong. FPG continues to be successful in securing new contracts and, from the start of the 2018/19 academic year, is contracted to manage over 14,000 beds.

"We continue to make solid progress in the build to rent sector, having successfully acquired five build to rent development sites. We remain in positive negotiations on several other opportunities and will update the market as these opportunities progress.

"As we continue to consolidate our position as a market leader in the development and construction of student accommodation and make good progress with our build to rent developments, the business continues to demonstrate sustainable growth. Given the encouraging start to the financial year, we believe our business model will continue to deliver strong returns to shareholders."


Notice of Results

The Group will be announcing its Interim Results on Tuesday, 22 May 2018. An analyst briefing will be held at 09.30hrs at the offices of Buchanan, 107 Cheapside, London EC2V 6DN.



- Ends -