London—Dentons has advised Scottish Widows, part of Lloyds Banking Group, on the refinancing of £86.1 million of Empiric Student Property plc’s existing debt with a new 10-year, fixed rate term loan facility.

The new facility is secured against a portfolio of the borrower’s English and Scottish operating assets, held as a lending group, through a wholly owned subsidiary. Around £30.6 million of the new facility will be drawn in the short term, with the remaining £55.5 million expected to be drawn by the end of October 2019.

James Irvine, UK Real Estate Finance partner at Dentons, says, "We were delighted to have advised Scottish Widows on its provision of this new long-term debt facility to Empiric, demonstrating the importance of lenders continuing to support the UK student accommodation sector as well as the UK housing sector more generally."

Simon Masri, partner in Dentons' Real Estate team who also led on the deal, comments, "This deal is indicative of the attractiveness of premium student accommodation in key UK university cities and was structured to meet Empiric's specific refinancing requirements."

The Dentons team was led by Banking and Finance partner James Irvine and Real Estate partner Simon Masri, with additional support from a large team including Banking and Finance associate Joe Byron Evans and Real Estate senior associate Laura Gowing.

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