TIDMESP
RNS Number : 3494M
Empiric Student Property PLC
23 May 2022
23 May 2022
Empiric Student Property plc
("Empiric" or the "Company" or, together with its subsidiaries,
the "Group")
BUSINESS AND TRADING UPDATE
Empiric Student Property plc (ticker: ESP), the owner and
operator of premium student accommodation serving key UK
universities, announces a trading update for the period from 1
January to 20 May 2022 ahead of its Annual General Meeting ("AGM")
at 10.00am today.
Duncan Garrood, Chief Executive Officer of Empiric Student
Property plc, said:
" We are now two thirds of the way through our booking cycle for
the academic year 2022/23, and to date we have achieved revenue
occupancy of 68%, which is 6% points better than the last pre-covid
academic year (2019/20) when bookings were 62% at this stage. We
remain confident of achieving our guidance for revenue occupancy
for the forthcoming academic year of 85% to 95%, with a target of
delivering at the upper end of that range, assuming no further
market disruption.
Our strategy of further enhancing the quality of our portfolio
and business remains well on track and we are making good progress
across all areas. We are increasingly encouraged by the continued
return to normal levels of activity in our markets and by the
outlook for our business. The Board continues to target a dividend
of at least 2.5 pence per share for the financial year 2022, all
else remaining equal, and to pay fully covered and progressive
dividends going forward ."
Improving rents and bookings
Our revenue management and dynamic pricing platform is helping
to maximise our rents and bookings, and, thereby in turn, drive
revenue for the academic year 2022/23 ("AY22/23"). So far, this has
helped us improve rental prices in fast selling locations, and
there are learnings too, which we expect will continue to improve
rents and booking numbers further going forward.
With bookings at 68% to date, it is currently too early to give
firm like for like rental guidance. However, current trends
indicate a return to pre-pandemic levels of rental growth.
Enhancing our portfolio to drive shareholder value
We continue to actively manage our property portfolio to recycle
capital and drive operational performance and returns for our
shareholders.
-- In the first quarter of 2022, we sold five sites for GBP26.5
million. Since the disposal programme began, we have sold nine
sites for GBP44.6 million, above book value.
-- We are progressing well with our two-year programme of
non-core property disposals, with GBP80 million remaining. We
expect to complete further sales transactions in the second half of
the year, at or above book value in aggregate. As reported
previously, increased due diligence is extending the sales process,
but we are confident that disposals will be completed in line with
our plans.
-- The cash generated allowed us to recycle capital and acquire
the high-quality 92-bed asset, Market Quarter in Bristol city
centre, for GBP19 million in February 2022, reflecting 4.75% net
initial yield. Within weeks of acquiring the property, it was 100%
booked for AY22/23 with an 18% increase in rent.
-- We have a good pipeline of potential high-quality investments
that can be activated once the proceeds from further disposals are
received.
-- Our two developments under construction in St Mary's in
Bristol and South Bridge in Edinburgh, are making good progress and
remain on time and within budget. St Mary's is already 100% booked
for AY22/23.
Further enhancing our brand and customer experience
We are also making good progress in further enhancing our brand
and customer experience, which will not only give us stronger
differentiation in the market but also help to reduce customer
acquisition costs. Customer service will be further improved
through the launch of our customer app, on which we have made great
progress. We will move to pilot phase at four sites next month.
Investing in our people
We are continuing to invest in our people, securing and
supporting the best talent for our future profitable growth. 25 of
our key managers have recently enrolled in an accredited leadership
development scheme. We have significantly stepped up our wellbeing
and mental health support services and invested in enhanced
internal communications.
Board changes have been detailed in a separate announcement
today, which included that our Chief Financial & Sustainability
Officer, Lynne Fennah, has decided to step down. She will remain in
her position until May 2023 to ensure an orderly transition. Whilst
the time for thanking Lynne and wishing her all the very best is
yet to come, today I would like to recognise Lynne's significant
contribution to the turnround and transformation of the
business.
Half year results
We will report our half year results for the six months ending
30 June 2022 on Thursday, 11 August 2022, with further details to
be announced in due course.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE COMPANY, PLEASE CONTACT:
Empiric Student Property plc (via Maitland/amo below)
Duncan Garrood (Chief Executive Officer)
Lynne Fennah (Chief Financial & Sustainability
Officer)
Jefferies International Limited 020 7029 8000
Tom Yeadon
Andrew Morris
RBC Europe Limited (trading as RBC Capital
Markets) 020 7653 4000
Marcus Jackson
Elliot Thomas
07747 113 930 / 0207
M aitland/amo (Communications Adviser) 379 5151
James Benjamin empiric-maitland@maitland.co.uk
Alistair de Kare-Silver
The Company's LEI is 213800FPF38IBPRFPU87.
Further information on Empiric can be found on the Company's
website at www.empiric.co.uk .
Notes:
Empiric Student Property plc is a leading provider and operator
of modern, predominantly direct-let, premium student accommodation
serving key UK universities. Investing in both operating and
development assets, Empiric is a fully integrated operational
student property business focused on premium studio-led
accommodation managed through its Hello Student(R) operating
platform, that is attractive to affluent growing student
segments.
The Company, an internally managed real estate investment trust
("REIT") incorporated in England and Wales, listed on the premium
listing segment of the Official List of the Financial Conduct
Authority and was admitted to trading on the main market for listed
securities of the London Stock Exchange in June 2014.
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END
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May 23, 2022 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)
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