No. of Recommendations: 4
> "It seems more likely they would sell at discounted prices."
> "That makes those properties a lot less valuable."
> "There may be issues with asset disposal prices."
Hello EVBigMacMeal,
So these phrases I picked out from your posts, came up repeatedly and I'm not really sure why.
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1. About 8 months ago, Unite sold 9 assets in Aberdeen, Leicester, Leeds, Sheffield, Nottingham.
https://www.unitegroup.com/articles/disposal-of-ni..."The disposals are priced at a c.1% discount to December 2024 book value"
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2. Recently, Unite has sold 1 asset in London.
https://www.londonstockexchange.com/news-article/U..."The £186 million disposal, which is subject to technical due diligence, represents a c.1% discount to December 2025 book value"
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So basically every single sale across these 10 sites, was sold at around 1% discount to the most recent book value before the sale.
The assets they are looking to sell now include undeveloped land bank sites, and surely there's no reason to assume those would sell far from ordinary appraisals.
All the evidence to date in the last year, across 10 site sales, including both London & non-London sites, suggests Unite's book value estimates are accurate and that they can achieve those prices.
They are not under pressure to sell, it's a choice to optimise returns, rather than being necessary to survive, which has a big impact on realised prices.
If you have any hard evidence they are having problems with selling around book value, if you can bring that evidence to the discussion, I would be delighted to read it.
Otherwise it may be worth considering dropping that 'talking point' from your writing for now, as it contradicts all the known facts that are available to date, and may mislead people.
Best wishes,
TRS.
