Empiric Student Property PLC Acquisition (2195N)
07 August 2017 - 4:00PM
UK Regulatory
TIDMESP
RNS Number : 2195N
Empiric Student Property PLC
07 August 2017
7 August 2017
Empiric Student Property plc
("Empiric" or the "Company" or, together with its subsidiaries,
the "Group")
Empiric acquires development site in Bristol: former St Mary's
Hospital
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, on an
unconditional basis, the freehold of the former St Mary's Hospital
(the "Site") in Bristol for GBP8.08 million (excluding costs).
The current site comprises a 3,400 sq m former hospital building
and 65 car parking spaces. The Company is in the process of
preparing a planning application for a 100+ bed premium student
accommodation development. The scheme will comprise a mix of
studios, two bed apartments and townhouses with a generous amount
of student amenity space including a central reception area, large
common and games room, work and reading rooms, a gym and offices.
The Company is targeting the commencement of development works in
Q3 2018.
The St Mary's Hospital site is located on the edge of the
University of Bristol's main campus in Clifton, adjacent to the
well-known Clifton Triangle area popular with students. The Group's
two existing schemes (College Green and William and Matthew House)
in Bristol are both within close proximity to the Site and are
letting well for the forthcoming academic year. Hello Student(R)
will market and manage the completed scheme in due course.
The City of Bristol attracts more than 40,000 full-time students
to its two central universities. The University of Bristol is
ranked 9(th) in The Times UK University Guide 2017 and comprises
20,290 full-time students in the latest HESA statistics for
2015/16. The University grew 21 per cent. in the five-year period
to 2015/16, and has a strong applications to acceptances ratio for
undergraduates through UCAS at 8.3 applications per place (6.6
nationally).
Paul Hadaway, Chief Executive of Empiric Student Property plc,
commented:
"Bristol is a prime location for the Group, and the St Mary's
Hospital site is ideally situated to target students at the
University of Bristol. The University is planning for significant
growth across the city, and suffers from a shortage of good quality
student accommodation. This will be Empiric's third asset in
Bristol, resulting in a portfolio serving circa 0.7 per cent. of
Bristol's full-time student population when complete, helping to
relieve the city's supply-demand imbalance. 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)
Lynne Fennah (Chief Financial
Officer)
Akur Limited (Joint Financial Tel: 020 7493 3631
Adviser)
Tom Frost
Anthony Richardson
Siobhan Sergeant
Jefferies International Limited Tel: 020 7029 8000
(Joint Financial Adviser and
Broker)
Gary Gould
Stuart Klein
Newgate (PR Adviser) Tel: 020 7680 6550
James Benjamin Em: empiric@newgatecomms.com
Anna Geffert
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(R) 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.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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