Acquires property in Manchester

RNS Number : 3409T

Empiric Student Property PLC

29 March 2016

 

29 March 2016

Empiric Student Property plc

("Empiric" or the "Company" or, together with its subsidiaries, the "Group")

Empiric acquires student accommodation property in Manchester: Ladybarn House

The Board of Empiric Student Property plc (ticker: ESP), the owner and operator of premium student accommodation across the UK, is pleased to announce that the Group has acquired the 145 year leasehold of a 117 bed, premium student accommodation property in Manchester for £10.25 million (excluding costs) from Accrue Capital.

As well as the two main universities, The University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University, the city is home to several smaller institutions such as the Royal Northern College of Music.  The city, therefore, has the second highest student population outside London.

Ladybarn House was built in 1994 by The University of Manchester (which remains the freeholder) and was subsequently comprehensively refurbished by Accrue Capital in 2012.  The property comprises 117 beds over three floors in a mix of studios, 1-bed apartments and 4-bed en-suite apartments, with communal facilities.  The property also has four ground floor retail units which are fully let.  The property is located in the popular student suburb of Fallowfield, south Manchester, opposite The University of Manchester's residential Fallowfield Campus.

The property has an excellent occupational track record, is fully let for the 2015/16 academic year and is letting well for 2016/17.  CRM Student Ltd will continue to manage the property until it is moved onto the Hello Student® platform, currently envisaged to be for the 2016/17 academic year.

Paul Hadaway, Chief Executive of Empiric Student Property plc, commented:

"Ladybarn House is our second acquisition in Manchester, a city with a high student population - 61,990 full-time students in 2014/15, of which 23.5% are international and 17.5% are postgraduate (according to the latest available HESA statistics).  The property is located in the vibrant student suburb of Fallowfield, with its numerous bars, restaurants and shops as well as direct bus links to the city centre and the University of Manchester's main campus.  This acquisition is in line with Empiric's investment criteria and returns profile."

For further information on the Company, please contact:

Empiric Student Property plc	(via Newgate below)
Paul Hadaway (Chief Executive)
Tim Attlee (Chief Investment Officer)
Michael Enright (Chief Financial Officer)
Akur Limited (Joint Financial Adviser)	Tel: [phone]
Tom Frost
Anthony Richardson
Siobhan Sergeant
Jefferies International Limited (Joint Financial Adviser and Broker)	Tel: [phone]
Gary Gould
Stuart Klein
Newgate (PR Adviser)	Tel: [phone]
James Benjamin	Em: [e-mail]
Alex Shilov
Lydia Thompson

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, direct-let, premium student accommodation across the UK.  Investing in both operating and development assets, the Company focuses on quality, with assets generally in prime central locations in top university cities and towns in the UK, attracting international students and/or those studying beyond first year, in particular, postgraduates. For the 2015/16 academic year, Empiric's customer base comprises 69% international students from 98 countries. 78% of the Company's customers are students beyond their first year of study.

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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