Acquires forward funded development in Glasgow

RNS Number : 5902F

Empiric Student Property PLC

13 November 2015

 

13 November 2015

Empiric Student Property plc

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

Empiric acquires forward funded development in Glasgow:

155 George Street

The Board of Empiric Student Property plc (ticker: ESP) is pleased to announce that the Group has exchanged contracts, subject to planning, on a forward funded development in Glasgow for a total investment of £9.6 million. The scheme, known as 155 George Street, consists of an 89 bed, premium student accommodation development in Glasgow.

The Group will acquire the freehold development, which currently comprises a vacant office building extending over basement, ground and six upper floors. The site is in close proximity to the University of Glasgow, directly opposite Strathclyde University's main John Anderson campus and will be developed into 87 self-contained studios and one two bed apartment. Once all the Group's properties are complete, this acquisition will increase the Group's presence in Glasgow to 440 beds.

KR Developments Ltd will undertake the development of the property on behalf of Empiric and are expected to be on-site in the spring of 2016 with delivery of the scheme scheduled for summer 2017, in time for the 2017/18 academic year.

The full amount required for the development will be invested in stages against development milestones. The Company will receive an income return from the developer on funds invested during the development period.

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

"This acquisition complements Empiric's existing student accommodation assets in Glasgow, a city with 53,000 full-time students at five higher education establishments; the third largest student population in the UK outside London. Within the city 23% of students are international and 21% are post-graduates. Once all properties are complete, Empiric will own 440 operating beds in this Russell Group University city, which will help to drive further operational efficiencies and economies of scale. 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

Further information on Empiric can be found on the Company's website at www.empiric.co.uk.

Notes:

Empiric Student Property plc (incorporated in England & Wales) is an internally managed real estate investment trust ("REIT") investing in modern, direct-let, premium, student accommodation, both standing and development assets, with a focus on quality and with assets generally in prime central locations in top university cities and towns in the UK. The Company 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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