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)

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 -

A mention here.

Half year results for the six months to 31 March 2018

· Revenues for the half year up 18.4% on the prior half year, driven by student accommodation developments.

· Strong profit growth for the half year, with gross profit increased by 18.6% to £34.5 million (H1 2017: £29.1 million) and operating profit increased by 22.7% to £23.8 million (H1 2017: £19.4 million).

· Gross margin for the six months to 31 March 2018 maintained at 21.8% (H1 2017: 21.8%).

· 12.3% increase in the interim dividend to 2.47 pence per share (FY 2017: Interim dividend of 2.2 pence per share), in line with our progressive dividend policy.

· Strong cash performance in the first half of the year, with net cash at 31 March 2018 of £38.4 million (31 March 2017: £11.7 million).



More.....

Peel Hunt Buy 205.75 230.00 240.00 Reiterates

Interesting UT of 28 shares @185.4000

Update on Student Accommodation and Build to Rent 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, announces that is has exchanged contracts to acquire a site in Wembley, London from Kelaty Propco Limited (a joint venture ultimately owned by Singapore incorporated Lum Chang Holdings Limited and Sin Heng Chang Private Ltd) (the 'Vendor'). The site benefits from an existing planning consent for a 599 bed student accommodation scheme, which will be developed by the Group for delivery in time for the 2021/22 academic year.


In addition, as part of the arrangement, the Group has entered into a development agreement with the Vendor to deliver 300 build to rent apartments on an adjoining site, to be completed in March 2021.

The securing of this opportunity in Wembley represents a significant addition to the Group's FY 2021 student accommodation and build to rent delivery pipelines.


- Ends -

Peel Hunt Buy 197.10 240.00 - Reiterates

Analyst and investor site visit

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 today hosting a site visit for analysts and investors to Duncan House in Stratford, one of the Group's London based developments.

Attendees will see the progress being made at Duncan House, a mixed use development on Stratford High Street offering 511 beds of purpose built student accommodation, 23 private residential apartments and 22 affordable shared ownership housing apartments. The scheme also provides a four-storey academic block (2,786 sq.m.) designed to accommodate potential teaching spaces, lecture theatres and dining facilities. The development is anticipated to be completed in the summer of 2019 ahead of the start of the 2019/20 academic year.

There will be no formal presentation distributed during the visit and no new material trading information will be given. Further information on the Group's performance will be released in the FY Pre-Close Trading Statement on 31 October 2018.



- Ends -

Forward sale of portfolio of 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 that the Group has completed the forward sale of a portfolio of four purpose-built student accommodation ('PBSA') development schemes to a joint venture between KKR and Round Hill Capital ('Round Hill') (the 'JV'). The Group has also exchanged an option agreement with the JV, conditional on full planning consent, for a fifth PBSA scheme in Bristol (the 'Portfolio').

The consideration payable to Watkin Jones over the course of the four forward sold developments is circa £180 million, net of all client funding and acquisition costs. This will be payable over the period September 2018 to September 2020. Additional consideration in respect of the Bristol scheme will be agreed once the option is exercised.

The JV invests in student accommodation through multiple strategies including acquiring existing assets, developing new PBSA, forward-funding and repositioning assets across select university towns and cities in the UK, Spain, Netherlands and wider Europe. This is the first student housing transaction for KKR and Round Hill through their JV in the United Kingdom.

The portfolio consists of 2,163 student accommodation beds and associated commercial use classes. Four of the schemes have planning consent granted with Bristol in the planning process. Further information on the five developments is detailed in the table below:

more.....

EQUITY DEVELOPMENT CHAMPIONING GROWTH COMPANIES

Pre-Close Trading Statement

Strong FY18 Trading Slightly Ahead of Expectations

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 provide a trading update for the year ended 30 September 2018 (the 'Period' or 'FY18').

The Board is pleased to announce that it expects to report revenues and underlying earnings (which excludes non-recurring profit items) for the financial year slightly ahead of its previous expectations. The Group's strong trading over the Period has also been reflected in its cash performance.

Student Accommodation

In the Period, Watkin Jones completed ten student accommodation developments across the UK with a total of 3,415 beds. As previously announced, at the end of FY18 the Group successfully completed an agreement for the forward sale of a portfolio of four student accommodation developments comprising 1,815 beds for delivery in FY19 and FY20, together with an option for the forward sale of a fifth student accommodation development of 348 beds for delivery in FY21.

As a consequence, the Board is pleased to report that of the six schemes now scheduled for delivery in FY19 (2,723 beds), five schemes comprising 2,646 beds have been forward sold. For FY20, the Group expects to deliver seven schemes (2,606 beds) of which four schemes comprising 1,844 beds have so far been forward sold. The remaining four schemes for delivery in FY19 (77 beds) and FY20 (762 beds) are secured. In addition, the Group continues to build its delivery pipeline for FY21, with four development sites (circa 2,189 beds) already secured. The location and forward sale values which have been achieved for the schemes scheduled for delivery in FY19 and FY20 underpin management's earnings expectations from the student accommodation division over these two years.

Build to Rent

Watkin Jones continues to make good progress with its strategy for the Build to Rent sector. As previously announced, in the Period the Group entered into development agreements with M&G Real Estate to deliver a high profile Build to Rent scheme of 315 apartments in Reading and with Singaporean incorporated Lum Chang Holdings Limited and Sin Heng Chang Private Ltd to deliver a scheme of 300 apartments in Wembley, both of which are for completion in FY21. Including these two developments, the Group now has a secured delivery pipeline of approximately 1,500 apartments across seven sites, which it is targeting to deliver over the period FY19 to FY22. In addition, the Group has several other site opportunities which are in legal negotiations to acquire or are under offer.

In the Group's FY18 interim results statement, the Board announced that it was at an early stage of exploring ways to enhance shareholder returns from the longer term value creation opportunity of the Group's Build to Rent programme, including consideration of establishing a new investment vehicle. The Board is continuing to evaluate its options and will update shareholders as appropriate.

Residential

The Watkin Jones residential division had a good year and completed 175 sales (FY17: 94 sales), comprising a mix of homes and apartment sales across the division's North West residential sites.

Fresh Property Group ('FPG')

As at the start of the 2018/19 academic year, FPG had 15,421 student beds and Build to Rent apartments under management across 56 schemes (16,617 student beds and Build to Rent apartments under management at the start of the 2017/18 academic year across 57 schemes). Of these 56 schemes, 52% were not developed by Watkin Jones.

As previously announced, the anticipated drop in units under management reflects the loss of 4,597 student beds following the sale of the Enigma property portfolio by the Curlew Student Trust. However, in the Period, FPG was appointed as manager for 14 new schemes effective from the start of the 2018/19 academic year, resulting in a net drop in units under management of only 1,196.

Under the terms of the management contracts with the Curlew Student Trust, FPG has been compensated for the early termination of those contracts relating to the sale of the Enigma portfolio. In addition, as FPG holds a carried interest investment in the Curlew Student Trust, which was established when the Fund was launched, in recognition of the importance of FPG's role as property manager, it received a share in the profit arising from the sale of the Enigma portfolio. These two items have given rise to a circa £4.0 million non-recurring profit in the Period, which is in addition to the Group's underlying earnings performance.

Outlook

Watkin Jones continues to maintain excellent visibility over future revenues and earnings, supported by the pipeline of forward sold and secured sites for the student accommodation division. The Group's success in securing the significant Build to Rent development agreements for the schemes in Reading and Wembley in the Period, together with the pipeline of sites which the Group has secured, is highly encouraging. In addition, the Group's residential and accommodation management divisions are well positioned to contribute to progressive growth in earnings. 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: "Trading in the Period has been strong and we are pleased to report that revenues and underlying earnings for the financial year are expected to be slightly ahead of the Board's previous expectations.

We have achieved excellent progress on forward sold student accommodation developments, successfully completing all ten schemes scheduled for delivery in the Period and continue to see strong demand from institutional investors. We are also encouraged by the progress that has been made in the Build to Rent sector, with the agreements for significant developments in Reading and Wembley demonstrating our position as a developer of choice for leading institutions.

The Group has a strong development pipeline that provides us with excellent future earnings and cash flow visibility, demonstrating the robustness of our model and ability to deliver significant returns for our shareholders."

The Group will be announcing its Final Results on Tuesday, 15 January 2018. An analyst briefing will be held at 09.30hrs at the offices of Buchanan, 107 Cheapside, London EC2V 6DN.

- Ends -

31 Oct 2018 Peel Hunt Buy 205.97 240.00 Reiterates

30 Oct 2018 Berenberg Buy 205.97 235.00 Initiates/Starts

Octopus Investments Nominees 7.96% -> 8.06%.

15 Jan 2019 Preliminary Results for the year ending 30 September 2018.