Acquires student accommodation property in Oxford

RNS Number : 7791T

Empiric Student Property PLC

01 April 2016

 

1 April 2016

Empiric Student Property plc

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

Empiric acquires student accommodation property in Oxford: Stonemason 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 freehold of a 44 bed student accommodation property in Oxford for £4.5 million (excluding costs).

Home to The University of Oxford (internationally recognised as one of the best universities worldwide and in the UK) and its Said Business School and Oxford Brookes University, Oxford is one of the world's most well-known university cities. There were over 32,000 full-time higher education students for the 2014/15 academic year (according to the latest available HESA statistics), of which 31.8% were international students and 29.1% were postgraduates.

Stonemason House was built in 2011 as a new build scheme in time for the 2011/12 academic year.  The property comprises 44 beds in a mix of four, five, six and seven-bed en-suite apartments.  The property is located just off Cowley Road, a vibrant and multi-cultural area of Oxford, with bars, restaurants and boutique shops, popular with students from both universities.

The property has been acquired from a local housing association and since completion in 2011 has been leased to St Cross College of The University of Oxford.  The current three-year lease is due to expire in September 2017.  The property will be managed through the Company's Hello Student® operating platform.

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

"Stonemason House is our first acquisition in Oxford, a city synonymous with higher education in the UK.  The property benefits from an existing lease with St Cross College, guaranteeing full occupancy for the term of the lease.  We are very pleased to have been able to acquire this property in a market with limited private sector, purpose-built student accommodation. 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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