Annual Bonus& LTIP Option Awards/PDMR Notification

RNS Number : 2684L

Empiric Student Property PLC

30 September 2016

 

30 September 2016

Empiric Student Property plc

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

Annual Bonus and LTIP Option Awards / PDMR Notification

The Board of Empiric Student Property plc (ticker: ESP) announces that on 29 September 2016, the Company granted nil-cost options over a total of 361,908 ordinary shares* pursuant to the deferred shares element of the annual bonus awards for the 2015/16 financial year (the "Annual Bonus Awards") and 671,121 ordinary shares* pursuant to the Empiric 2014 Long Term Incentive Plan (the "2016-2019 LTIP Awards") to the Company's three Executive Directors, as set out below. 

Name	Position	Number of shares the subject of the 2015/16 Annual Bonus Award	Number of shares under option pursuant to the 2016-2019 LTIP Award	Total awards outstanding**
Paul Hadaway	Chief Executive Officer	129,253	244,044	1,312,253
Tim Attlee	Chief Investment Officer	129,253	244,044	1,312,253
Michael Enright	Chief Financial Officer	103,402	183,033	1,037,891

* The amounts shown above represent the maximum number of ordinary shares that may be granted to the eligible employees under the Annual Bonus Awards and the 2016-2019 LTIP Awards.  The price used to calculate the number of ordinary shares under the Annual Bonus Awards and the 2016-2019 LTIP Awards was £1.1064, representing the average of the daily closing prices of the Company's ordinary shares on the London Stock Exchange for the 12 month period ended 31 August 2016.

** includes previous bonus awards and awards under the Empiric 2014 Long Term Incentive Plan granted on 30 June 2014 and 9 November 2015.

The Annual Bonus Awards are not subject to any further performance conditions and in normal circumstances will be exercisable on or after the third anniversary of grant.

The 2016-2019 LTIP Awards are subject to a performance condition linked to Total Shareholder Return, measured over a three year period ending on 30 June 2019 and are expected to vest in November 2019.  The performance condition is designed to ensure alignment between the incentivisation of the Company's Executive Directors and the interests of shareholders.

The total number of ordinary shares over which nil-cost options were granted on 29 September 2016 represents approximately 0.21 per cent. of the Company's issued share capital.

The above transactions took place in the United Kingdom, with a grant date of 29 September 2016 and the Directors being notified on 29 September 2016.

For further information on the Company, please contact:

Empiric Student Property plc	(via Newgate below)
Philip Scales (Company Secretary)
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 Zoë Pocock	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 and is committed to providing shareholders with regular, sustainable and growing (at least in line with RPI) dividends, together with the potential for capital appreciation over the medium to long term. 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. The Company is a constituent of the FTSE All Share and FTSE EPRA/NAREIT indices.

 

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