TIDMESP
RNS Number : 4100A
Empiric Student Property PLC
24 May 2023
Empiric Student Property plc
("Empiric" or the "Company" or, together with its subsidiaries,
the "Group")
BUSINESS AND TRADING UPDATE
Strong operational metrics and resilience of PBSA sector
continue to underpin outlook
Empiric Student Property plc (ticker: ESP), the owner and
operator of premium, studio-led, student accommodation across the
UK, is pleased to provide a business and trading update as at 23
May 2023.
Highlights
-- Revenue occupancy for academic year 2023/24 now at 86% and
continuing to track significantly ahead of prior year
-- Like for like growth in average weekly rents for academic
year 2023/24 improving and now expected to exceed 7%
-- As previously announced, the sale of Emily Davis House,
Southampton which was exchanged for sale in December 2022 for
GBP13.9m, is now unconditional and will complete on 31 May 2023
-- Contracts exchanged for the disposal of a further two
non-core properties generating GBP18.1m, which is above book
value
Duncan Garrood, Chief Executive Officer of Empiric Student
Property plc, said:
"The booking cycle for academic year 2023/24 continues to track
significantly ahead of 2022/23, which was itself a record year for
the Company. We remain confident in achieving occupancy rates above
97 per cent and pleasingly, delivering rental growth in excess of 7
per cent like for like, ahead of earlier guidance.
The business is in great shape, our net promoter scores continue
to improve and we've made good progress on our non-core disposal
programme. We are optimistic that 2023 will be another strong year
for the Company."
Academic year 2023/24
We are extremely pleased with the strong sales performance for
the forthcoming 2023/24 academic year, with 86 per cent of our
2023/24 income contractually secured. This is largely the result of
our best ever rebooker campaign, where an increasing number of
students are deciding to remain with us, reflecting the strong
demand for our premium accommodation combined with improving levels
of customer satisfaction provided through our Hello Student
platform. We continue to expect the portfolio to be effectively
full, with occupancy above 97 per cent by the start of the new
academic year in September.
Our dynamic pricing platform continues to drive revenue growth
across the portfolio. We now expect like for like rental growth to
exceed 7 per cent, up from 6 per cent as announced in March.
Disposals
We continue to actively manage our property portfolio to recycle
capital and drive operational performance and returns for our
shareholders.
Contracts have recently been exchanged for the disposal of a
further two non-core properties generating GBP18.1m, GBP0.2 million
above their 31 December 2022 book values. The sales cumulatively
represent 233 operational beds and reduce by one, the cities in
which the Company has an operational presence. Both contracts are
unconditional and anticipated to complete by 30 June 2023.
Since March 2021, including the above, the Company has generated
GBP91.9 million from the disposal of non-core assets. A number of
other non-core assets sales are at various stages of negotiation,
including under offer. As reported previously, we are confident
that our disposal programme will be materially completed this
year.
We continue to actively consider a number of high-quality, well
located investment opportunities that are complementary to our core
strategy.
Debt & liquidity
As at 31 March 2023, property LTV was 31.0 per cent (based on 31
December 2022 valuations) with a weighted average cost of debt of
4.2 per cent, and a weighted average term to maturity of 4.6 years.
Cash and available facilities totalled GBP75.9 million
Although there are no residual 2023 refinancing requirements, we
are active in discussion with existing and new lenders in respect
of medium-term requirements. Lender appetite for the sector remains
encouraging.
Dividends
Alongside our full year results in March 2023, we set out our
expectation of meeting a minimum full year dividend of 3.25 pence
per share for 2023. Today we have declared our first quarter
dividend of 0.8125 pence per share, in line with this target.
ENDS
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE COMPANY, PLEASE CONTACT:
Empiric Student Property plc (via FTI Consulting below)
Duncan Garrood (Chief Executive Officer)
Donald Grant (Chief Financial & Sustainability
Officer)
Jefferies International Limited 020 7029 8000
Tom Yeadon
Andrew Morris
Peel Hunt LLP 020 7418 8900
Capel Irwin
Carl Gough
FTI Consulting 020 3727 1000
Dido Laurimore empiric@fticonsulting.com
Eve Kirmatzis
The Company's LEI is 213800FPF38IBPRFPU87.
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, predominantly direct-let, premium student accommodation
located in high-demand university towns and cities across the UK.
Investing in both operating and development assets, Empiric is a
fully integrated operational student property business focused on
premium studio-led accommodation managed through its Hello
Student(R) operating platform, that is attractive to affluent
growing student segments.
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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END
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