UK Mortgages Ltd - Highly Successful Securitisation of Keystone Portfolio
PR Newswire
London, January 18
UK Mortgages Ltd: Highly Successful Securitisation Completed for Keystone Portfolio
THE INFORMATION IN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS RESTRICTED AND IS NOT FOR PUBLICATION, RELEASE OR DISTRIBUTION DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY IN OR INTO OR FROM THE UNITED STATES, CANADA, AUSTRALIA, THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA, THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND OR JAPAN.
18 January 2021
UK MORTGAGES LIMITED
(a closed-ended investment company incorporated in Guernsey with registration number 60440)
| 549300388LT7VTHCIT59 |
LEI 549300388LT7VTHCIT59
Investment update
UK Mortgages Ltd: Highly Successful Securitisation Completed for Keystone Portfolio
18 January 2021
The Board of UK Mortgages Limited ("UKML") and TwentyFour Asset Management LLP ("TwentyFour") are pleased to announce that the launch and pricing of Hops Hill No.1 PLC, the debut securitisation of a portfolio of first ranking, Buy-to-Let mortgage loans originated by Keystone Property Finance ("Keystone"), was completed on Friday afternoon following two and a half days of roadshow meetings and a further two days of book building.
The transaction, the first UK RMBS deal to be launched in 2021, was a major success. Practically, the deal has been ready for launch since early November last year, but as the year-end approached and the resolution of a number of broader uncertainties became apparent, such as the approval and roll-out of vaccines, it became strategically beneficial to hold off until the new year.
This also allowed the portfolio to grow further as ongoing origination flowed into the pool of loans, thus also allowing for a larger transaction. Rather than the £350m originally envisaged last year, we were able to come to market with a transaction totalling £400m. This includes £63m of pre-funding loans - essentially allowing the deal to incorporate loans currently in the pipeline but not yet completed - the first deal to contain this feature since the start of the pandemic.
The deal saw strong demand from a broad range of investors, and notably many more than have typically been seen in recent transactions, with the book building to over 3.4x oversubscription for the senior notes and more than twice that for the mezzanine classes. This allowed pricing to be tightened by an impressive 15bp from initial guidance on the senior notes, which were priced at a spread of Sonia+95bp, while the mezzanine notes were also tightened by 25bp or more during the process.
Much of this demand was driven by the exceptional quality of the loan portfolio that Keystone has originated - loans not previously seen as an entire transaction by securitisation investors - as highlighted by the exceptional performance of the pool during the payment holiday period last year.
Moreover the overall improvement of nearly 20bp achieved by the transaction compared to the level anticipated when the board and manager met with investors last year, will significantly improve the expected returns for the fund, once the pre-funding is completed at the first Interest Payment Date in May. Further details on these returns and the securitisation will be presented to investors in early February.
Chris Waldron, UKML's chairman said: "This is an excellent deal for UKML and will make an important contribution to meeting the revised goals we set during our strategic review late last year."
Rob Ford, portfolio manager at TwentyFour, said: "We are delighted with the outcome of this transaction, which saw unprecedented investor demand highlighting the high quality of the loan pool and securitisation structure. Additionally, the outstanding pricing performance combined with the larger deal size will further increase returns for UKML shareholders. We will now move on immediately to the task of finalising the follow-on warehouse to enable the company to build the next portfolio that will ultimately form Hops Hill No. 2."
Further information:
TwentyFour Asset Management LLP
Rob Ford
020 7015 8900
Numis Securities Limited, Corporate Broker
Nathan Brown
Hugh Jonathan
020 7260 1000
