Dividend Declaration

RNS Number : 5780Q

Empiric Student Property PLC

01 March 2016

 

1 March 2016

Empiric Student Property plc

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

Dividend Declaration

The Board of Empiric Student Property plc (ticker: ESP), the owner and operator of premium student accommodation across the UK, has declared a second interim dividend for the financial year ending 30 June 2016 of 1.5 pence per Ordinary Share in respect of the quarter ended 31 December 2015, payable on or around 23 March 2016 to Ordinary Shareholders on the register on 11 March 2016. The ex-dividend date will be 10 March 2016.    

0.725 pence of this dividend will be paid as a Property Income Distribution ("PID") in respect of the Company's tax exempt property rental business and 0.775 pence will be paid as an ordinary UK dividend ("non-PID").

The Company confirms an annual dividend target of at least 6 pence per Ordinary Share for the financial year ending 30 June 2016. Thereafter, dividends are expected to grow by not less than the RPI inflation index ⁽¹⁾.

Note:

(1) The target dividends stated above are targets only and not forecasts. There can be no assurance that these targets will be met and they should not be taken as an indication of the Company's expected or actual future results. Potential investors should not place any reliance on these targets.

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 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 comprised 69% international students from 98 countries. 78% of the Company's customers were students beyond their first year of study.

The Company (incorporated in England and Wales), an internally managed real estate investment trust ("REIT"), 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.

 

END

 

 

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