Moody's gives University College, bond Aa3

Moody's Investors Service said it gave Aa3 ratings to University College London and its forthcoming senior unsecured sustainability bond issuance of up to £300 million.

“The Aa3 issuer rating assigned to UCL reflects its excellent strategic positioning as a world leader in both research and education, its demonstrated ability to continuously grow its revenue and its relatively strong debt metrics,” the agency said in a press release.

The bond’s rating is derived from UCL’s Aa3 long-term issuer rating. “The ratings reflect UCL's sound debt metrics that will remain in line with peers despite the material debt increase, with financial leverage decreasing to 1.1x in fiscal 2021, in line with U.K.-rated peers, from a strong 1.6x in fiscal 2020,” Moody’s said.

UCL will use the proceeds for sustainable purposes in line with UCL's sustainable bond framework. The issuance is intended to partially fund UCL's 2014-2029 capital program, which includes the building of a new campus, UCL East, equivalent to 40% of UCL's Bloomsbury campus in size.

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