Appointment of Chief Financial Officer

RNS Number : 0575D

Empiric Student Property PLC

24 April 2017

 

24 April 2017

Empiric Student Property plc

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

Lynne Fennah to join Empiric as Chief Financial Officer

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 Lynne Fennah will join the Company as Chief Financial Offer with effect from 26 June 2017.

Baroness Dean, Chairman of Empiric Student Property plc, commented:

"We are delighted that Lynne Fennah is joining the Board of Empiric and look forward to working with her in continuing the growth and success of the Company.  She has significant experience in real estate and specific knowledge of the hospitality sector, a combination which we believe will be invaluable as Empiric continues to develop.  It is important that our tenants enjoy the best possible experience, to which Hello Student® is integral, and a good understanding of the hospitality sector will help with this, especially in delivering increased efficiencies from the platform - Lynne will bring her critical knowledge to this role. Lynne is a welcome addition to our Executive Team to work alongside Paul Hadaway, CEO, and Tim Attlee, CIO. 

"In the meantime, Nigel Turner will remain as Interim Head of Finance of the Company until further notice."

Lynne is a Chartered Accountant (having trained at Moore Stephens) with over 30 years' experience, including in the real estate and hospitality sectors.  Most recently, she has been Chief Financial Officer of Palmer Capital Partners Limited ("Palmer Capital"), a role she has held since 2012, overseeing the company's financial and taxation matters as well as being a member of the Risk Committee.  Palmer Capital, which is FCA regulated, is a real estate investment management company which manages, directly or through its affiliated companies, assets worth approximately £1 billion.  

Prior to joining Palmer Capital, Lynne spent five years with Australian based TOGA Group as European CFO.  TOGA Group is a developer of residential property and a leading hotel operator, overseeing 70 hotels across six brands located in Australasia and Europe.  Lynne was responsible for managing the group's activities in Europe, including the development of hotels across the region and management of its commercial property investments.

Previously, Lynne held senior financial management roles with The Goodwood Estate Company Limited, latterly as Group Financial and IT Director, a board position with responsibility for the finances of all the group companies across the various operations including the Goodwood Hotel, Goodwood Racecourse and flagship events such as the Festival of Speed.   

There is no information to be disclosed pursuant to LR9.6.13R.

For further information on the Company, please contact:

Empiric Student Property plc	(via Newgate below)
Paul Hadaway (Chief Executive)
Tim Attlee (Chief Investment 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]
Zoe Pocock
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, nominated or leased student accommodation across the UK. Investing in both operating and development assets, Empiric is a multi-niche student property company focused on, (i) providing good quality first year accommodation managed through its Hello Student® operating platform in partnership with universities, (ii) offering a variety of second and third year purpose built accommodation options for individual students and those wanting a group living environment, and (iii) continuing to expand the Group's existing premium, studio-led accommodation portfolio which is attractive to international and postgraduate students.

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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