Empiric acquires student accommodation in Leeds

RNS Number : 7727I

Empiric Student Property PLC

30 March 2015

 

30 March 2015

Empiric Student Property plc

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

Empiric acquires student accommodation property in Leeds: St. Mark's Court

The Board of Empiric Student Property plc (ticker: ESP) is pleased to announce that the Group has acquired the freehold of an operational, direct-let, premium student accommodation property in Leeds, for a consideration of £7.1 million (excluding acquisition costs). 

St Mark's Court, which was completed in 2009, is a high-quality, modern purpose-built student accommodation scheme comprising 85 large self-contained studios with communal facilities and secure parking spaces.  The Board believes that there is scope to extract further value through asset management, including a refurbishment of the property and adding to the communal facilities in the medium term.

St Mark's Court is located at the junction of St Mark's Road and Shay Street, to the north of Leeds city centre and the two main universities, the University of Leeds and Leeds Beckett University, both of which are within a short walking distance.  The property is also within a five minute walk of Leeds College of Art.

The property has been fully let since it began operations in the 2009/10 academic year and is currently managed by Niche Homes.

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

"St Mark's Court is Empiric's second acquisition in Leeds, one of the top Russell Group university cities. In addition to the two large universities, Leeds is home to several smaller institutions such as Leeds Trinity, Leeds College of Music and the Leeds campus of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama and is, therefore, a city where we intend to increase our presence.  The 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
Alex Collins
Newgate (Financial PR)	Tel: [phone]
James Benjamin	Em: [e-mail]
Andre Hamlyn

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

Notes:

Empiric Student Property plc (incorporated in England & Wales) is an internally managed real estate investment trust ("REIT") investing in modern, premium, student accommodation, 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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