NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION OR RELEASE IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (OR TO U.S. PERSONS), AUSTRALIA, CANADA OR JAPAN, OR IN ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH OFFERS OR SALES OF SECURITIES WOULD BE PROHIBITED BY APPLICABLE LAW
The University of Liverpool (the “University”) today announces that it has priced £250 million 3.375% bonds due 2055.
The bonds, which were priced at a spread of 0.80% over the relevant reference gilt, are rated Aa2 stable outlook by Moody’s and are unsecured.
The University will use the net proceeds from the Bond for general corporate purposes and repayment of existing bank loans.
Commenting on the issue, Professor Janet Beer, Vice Chancellor, said: “We are delighted by the success of this issue and by the strong support shown by investors in the University. We continue to invest in the institution, making it highly attractive for students and providing facilities to support world-class research. Proceeds of the bond will help to finance our student residential investment strategy.”
Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds Bank acted as Joint Bookrunners. Clifford Chance and Eversheds provided legal advice to the University, and Rothschild provided independent debt advice.
Any investment decision made in connection with the Bond issue must be based solely on the information contained in the final Prospectus dated 23 June 2015 relating to the Bonds.
For further information contact:
Sarah Stamper, Press Officer, +44 (0)151 794 3044, sarah.stamper@liverpool.ac.uk
Important Notices
This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy the securities described herein, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.
This press release does not constitute an offer of securities for sale in the United States. The securities described herein have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and may not be offered, sold or delivered within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. person (as defined in Regulation S under the Securities Act) absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act and in compliance with applicable state securities laws. No action has been made or will be taken that would permit a public offering in the United States of the securities described herein. Outside the United States, the offer is being made to non-U.S. persons in accordance with Regulation S under the Securities Act.
Notes to editors
The University of Liverpool
The University of Liverpool is the original ‘redbrick’ university, a founding member of the Russell Group of leading UK research-led universities, and is ranked in the top 1% of higher education institutions worldwide by the International Handbook of Universities 2014. It has nine Nobel prize winners among its former staff and students.
In the 2014/15 academic year the University offered more than 500 programmes to undergraduate and postgraduate students at its Liverpool and London campuses and received 39,662 undergraduate applications for places of study.
It exceeds industry benchmarks for widening participation and in 2014 was ranked top in the Russell Group for its proportion of students from low participating neighbourhoods by the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
The university is the largest provider of wholly online postgraduate degrees in Europe.
In 2006, the University founded Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) in Suzhou near Shanghai as a joint venture with Xi’an Jiaotong University – a top 10 university in China. XJTLU is now the largest international collaborative university in China and the only one with dual degree awarding powers. It was voted the most influential Sino-foreign university in China in 2013.
The University has an annual income of over £400m and fixed assets of over £500m.