Launch of New Operational Platform: Hello Student

RNS Number : 9342P

Empiric Student Property PLC

24 February 2016

 

24 February 2016

Empiric Student Property plc

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

Launch of the Company's New Operational Platform: Hello Student

Empiric Student Property plc (ticker: ESP), the owner and operator of premium student accommodation across the UK, today announces the launch of the Company's new operational platform and consumer brand, Hello Student.

Empiric is working in partnership with CRM Student Ltd, a leading outsourced manager of UK student accommodation, to deliver the Hello Student marketing, booking, billing and accounting platform, managed by a dedicated internal team led by Clint Bartman, Empiric's Operations Director.

Empiric is directly employing local accommodation managers for its buildings and will appoint a team of regional managers based across the UK who will form the national management and concierge team under the Hello Student platform.

Empiric has also signed an agreement with Incentive Facilities Management Group Ltd to provide facilities management and maintenance services nationwide across the Company's portfolio, working in partnership with Empiric to provide a single central resource for the Hello Student operational platform and its managers.

A Hello Student app, available on all handheld mobile devices, will be launched later in 2016, from which students will be able to access booking, rebooking and facilities management resources. The Company also plans to offer secondary sales of services and products to students through the app in due course.

Initially, Hello Student is directly managing six of Empiric's operating student accommodation assets and is marketing these and seven of Empiric's assets currently under development that will become operational for the 2016/17 academic year¹. By the start of the 2018/19 academic year, it is expected that all of Empiric's current portfolio, comprising 5,691 beds either operating or under development, across 58 assets in 26 university cities and towns in the UK, will be marketed and managed under the Hello Student platform.

By developing its own operational capability, the Company expects to deliver operational and financial improvements and is targeting an improvement in net margin of 5% across assets managed through the Hello Student platform by the start of the 2018/19 academic year.

The Hello Student website can be found at www.hellostudent.co.uk.

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

"Hello Student is Empiric's new centralised, national marketing and management platform that significantly strengthens the Company's internal operational capabilities. Our outsourced and nationwide facilities management contract will be fully integrated into the Hello Student platform and be a reliable, managed resource for our accommodation managers to draw on. We are confident Hello Student will deliver improved operational and financial efficiencies as it connects Empiric's entire student accommodation portfolio under one platform and brand by the start of the 2018/19 academic year.

"We expect Hello Student will streamline billing and rent collection and present a more attractive and consistent service offering and brand that better resonates with Empiric's current and potential customers as well as further driving re-bookings and referrals. As it gains momentum and scale, we expect that Hello Student will provide a wider, more effective and efficient in-house service offering, with directly employed regional and accommodation managers, helping to ensure we deliver the best quality service offering to Empiric's customers."

^1.       The initial six buildings directly marketed and managed by Hello Student are located in Durham, Glasgow, Hatfield, Nottingham, Falmouth and Portsmouth and comprise 563 beds. Seven of Empiric's development sites, comprising 815 beds, are currently being marketed and will be managed by Hello Student from their completion in time for the start of the 2016/17 academic year. These development sites are located in Aberdeen, Bath, Glasgow, Newcastle, Sheffield and two in Nottingham.

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 standing 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 and 78% of the Company's customers were students beyond their first year of study.

The Company (incorporated in England & 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.

 

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