Prospectus

The investment objective of the Company is to provide Shareholders with regular, sustainable and growing long-term dividends (which it will seek to grow at least in line with the RPI inflation index) together with the potential for capital appreciation over the medium to long term.



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ESP(ESP) Fundamentals

StockMarketWire.com
Empiric Student Property's portfolio valuation rose to £817.9m in the six months to the end of June - up 13.4% from the end of December.

Operating profit was £20.2 million (H2 2016: £20.2 million).

Highlights:
- 3.05 pence dividend paid for the six months ended 30 June 2017 (3.05 pence for the six months ended 31 December 2016)

* Target dividend for the period to 31 December 2017 of 6.1 pence per share

- £13.0 million revaluation gain (H2 2016: £14.5 million)

- NAV per share (basic) of 105.81 pence

- 0.08% decrease from a NAV of 105.90 pence (basic) as at 31 December 2016 net of all property acquisition costs

- Loan to value ratio at 30 June 2017 of 36.0%, with a weighted average term to maturity for the debt of 7.1 years and weighted average interest payable of 3.42%

- Agreed a new £10 million three year unsecured loan, which has been drawn down

- Total property portfolio valuation of £817.9 million as at 30 June 2017 (31 December 2016: £721.3 million)

- Total valuation uplift of £96.6 million (13.4%) for the period compared to 31 December 2016

Chairman Baroness Dean of Thornton-le-Fylde said: "More students demanding a bed in purpose built accommodation coupled with pressures on local housing markets means that demand for PBSA remains strong.

"The details of the UK's exit from the European Union remain unclear but the UK Government recognises the importance of the continued success of the higher education sector.

"Around 23% of students in the UK are international, of which nearly 7% are from the EU.

"Many are postgraduates who come to the UK for 12 months or less, which means they should not be affected by post-Brexit limits on immigration, which would apply to those coming here for more than one year.

"The student accommodation market remains highly attractive and we have the strategy, pipeline, financial resources, management team and people to continue to grow the business successfully in the second half of the year and into the future.

"In summary, we are optimistic about Empiric's prospects in the remainder of 2017 and beyond."

Empiric targets second and third year students as demand grows

Numis Hold 108.38 115.00 115.00 Retains

StockMarketWire.com
Empiric Student Property is to implement operational improvements and cost savings after a review identified a number of inefficiencies which have had an adverse impact on performance.

The review was led by chief financial officer Lynne Fennah, who joined the company on 26 Jun, with chief executive Paul Hadaway and chief investment officer Tim Attlee.

It said the board expects these to deliver growth in operating margin, dividend cover and total shareholder return in 2018 and beyond.

The group said the initiatives were not expected to have a negative impact on the core business activities or its investment strategy.

Chairman Baroness Dean said: 'With the increase in operating properties from 52 to 84 and in internally managed buildings of 18 to 61, from June 2016 to the start of the current academic year, 2017 has been a year of exceptional growth for Empiric.

'The review undertaken has identified a number of operational inefficiencies which have adversely impacted performance.

'The Board is acutely aware that performance has fallen below expectations and is fully focused on delivering operational efficiencies.

'We are confident in the quality of the portfolio, prospects for future performance and the Company's potential to deliver returns which meet market expectations.'

Clarification of Company announcement on 1 December: Notification of Transaction of a Director



Further to the Company announcement on 1 December 2017, Notification of Transaction of a Director, the Board of Empiric Student Property plc (ticker: ESP), the owner and operator of premium student accommodation across the UK, confirms that Paul Hadaway, Chief Executive of the Company, has reorganised his personal shareholding by transferring 388,750 ordinary shares in the Company ("Ordinary Shares") from his personal account into his pension fund.



Mr Hadaway sold 388,750 ordinary shares in the Company ("Ordinary Shares") at a price of 87.75 pence per Ordinary Share and Mr Hadaway's pension fund then subsequently purchased 388,750 Ordinary Shares at price of 87.7575 pence per share.



Following the transaction, there were no net changes to Mr Hadaway's shareholding in the Company and he continues to hold 1,532,775 Ordinary Shares (equivalent to 0.25 per cent. of the Company's issued ordinary share capital).



This notification is made in accordance with Article 19 of the Market Abuse Regulations and further details required under Article 19(6) are set out in the Appendix below.

This seems to have slipped beyond any reasonable logic. Presumably partly due to the effect of Brexit, but last set of figures weren't bad. Has now fallen well below the float price....presumably divi is safe? Am tempted to get back in at these levels.
EDIT: Just seen divi has been cut. (1.52p to 1.25p)

Really?

Did you not read about their specific problems ????

Must have missed that JS. Will have a better look.
EDIT : Dec 2016 seems to have been the time of unrest concerning Directors remuneration. Revolving credit facility renegotiated Sept 2017 + increase in equity. A 30% drop in the sp might be a bit overdone?

Link courtesy of Jonwig.

Empiric hoists £600m 'for sale' sign after ousting CEO

What do you reckon skinny?
Surely selling the company as a whole has got to be a better option than selling off individual assets, as far as shareholders are concerned?

I'm not sure Harry - I'm obviously missing something.

StockMarketWire.com
Empiric Student Property plc, the owner and operator of student accommodation across the UK, announced Monday that it acquired the freehold of a 240 bed student accommodation property in Southampton, for £10.6 million.

Post-acquisition, Empiric will own 459 beds in Southampton amounting to approximately 9% of Southampton's private PBSA.

The property comprises affordable student accommodation configured in three and four bed apartments with 65 commercially let car parking spaces.

Tim Attlee, Acting Chief Executive of Empiric Student Property plc, said: 'As envisaged in the Company's 2025 Plan, adding affordable accommodation to Empiric's existing studio stock in the City widens the rental range offered to students and allows cross-selling between accommodation formats.'

'The Property will also contribute to a reduction of the Company's per-bed operating costs in the City. The investment is immediately income producing and in line with Empiric's investment criteria and returns targets.'

Property Valuation & Trading Update

Empiric Student Property plc (ticker: ESP), the owner and operator of student accommodation across the UK, announces that the Group's property portfolio was independently valued by CBRE Ltd as at 31 December 2017 and on a like-for-like basis is slightly ahead compared to 30 June 2017. The portfolio valuation was £890.1 million, representing an increase of 23.4% for the full year and 8.8% for H2 2017 and was based on current levels of occupancy and on an industry standard asset-by-asset basis.

The increase in valuation has been driven largely by acquisitions, with yield compression, development progress and rental growth also contributing to uplifts in the majority of Empiric's towns and cities, which are continuing to see strong demand. However, this increase in value has been partially offset by certain assets where Empiric has faced operational challenges as previously reported.

The Group continues to focus fully on driving revenue and reducing costs and can report recent progress in line with the guidance provided in the November 2017 Trading Update. Bookings for the 2018/19 academic year are at 40% which is significantly ahead of last year and administration costs for H2 2017 have been reduced by 21% from £7.6 million for H1 2017 to circa £6.0 million.

The results for the year ended 31 December 2017 will be published on Wednesday 21 March 2018 and will include a full update on the Company's performance and progress made on the initiatives outlined in the Business Review.

Numis Hold 85.35 91.00 91.00 Reiterates

Dividend Declaration

The Board of Empiric Student Property plc (ticker: ESP), the owner and operator of student accommodation across the UK, has declared a dividend of 1.25 pence per Ordinary Share in respect of the quarter ended 31 December 2017, payable on 23 March 2018 to all Ordinary Shareholders on the register on 9 March 2018. The ex-dividend date will be 8 March 2018.

0.84 pence of this dividend will be paid as a Property Income Distribution ("PID") in respect of the Company's tax exempt property rental business and 0.41 pence will be paid as an Ordinary UK dividend ("non-PID").

The Board is targeting a dividend of 5 pence per share for the year to 31 December 2018.1

Note:

(1) The target dividend is a target only and not a forecast. There can be no assurance that the target will be met and it should not be taken as an indication of the Company's expected or actual future results.

NOTICE OF FULL YEAR RESULTS

The Board of Empiric Student Property plc (ticker: ESP), the owner and operator of student accommodation across the UK, will announce its full year results for the 12 months ended 31 December 2017 on Wednesday, 21 March 2018.

RESULT OF AGM AND TRADING UPDATE

The Board of Empiric Student Property plc (ticker: ESP) (the "Board"), the owner and operator of student accommodation across the UK, announces that all resolutions proposed at the Company's Annual General Meeting held on 24 April 2018 were duly passed as set out below.

The Board is also pleased to provide the following trading update:

Stuart Beevor, Acting Chairman, commented:

"We are very encouraged with the Company's on-going progress in delivering financial and operational improvements across the business. We look forward to being able to report further progress in the near term, ahead of the announcement of the Company's interim results in August 2018."

· Bookings growing strongly: Bookings for the 2018/19 academic year are currently 57% compared to 45% at the same time last year, and up from 48% as announced by the Company on 21 March 2018. 7.50% of beds in the Company's portfolio are let on nominations agreements or leases with universities.

o Targeting occupancy of 97% for the 2018/19 academic year, supported by an increased focus on the end to end sales process.

· Operating margin increasing: Significant progress made on improving the operating margin in FY 2018 and on track to bring cost-effective facilities management in-house in stages completing in Q1 2019, with the first significant cost savings from Q4 2018 as third party costs begin to fall away.

· Administration expenses reducing: On track to achieve the target of £10 million in FY 2018 for administration expenses, a reduction of 26% on FY 2017.

· Improving dividend cover: Significant progress made on improving dividend cover which is expected to be approximately two thirds covered by adjusted earnings in FY 2018 and fully covered in FY 2019.

o Targeting a dividend of 5.0 pence per share for the year ending 31 December 2018.

· Non-executive Chairman: The Board has commenced a process to identify a new non-executive Chairman and looks forward to making a further announcement in due course.

In accordance with Listing Rule 9.6.2(R), a copy of the resolutions passed at the Annual General Meeting will be submitted to the National Storage Mechanism and will be available for inspection at www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/NSM.

more.....

Dividend Declaration

The Board of Empiric Student Property plc (ticker: ESP), the owner and operator of premium student accommodation across the UK, has declared a dividend of 1.25 pence per Ordinary Share in respect of the quarter ended 31 March 2018, payable on 15 June 2018 to all Ordinary Shareholders on the register on 1 June 2018. The ex-dividend date will be 31 May 2018.

0.20 pence of this dividend will be paid as a Property Income Distribution ("PID") in respect of the Company's tax exempt property rental business and 1.05 pence will be paid as an Ordinary UK dividend ("non-PID").

The Board is targeting a dividend of 5 pence per share for the year to 31 December 2018.1

Note:

(1) The target dividend is a target only and not a forecast. There can be no assurance that the target will be met and it should not be taken as an indication of the Company's expected or actual future results.

Notice of Trading Update and Half Year Results

Empiric Student Property plc (ticker: ESP), the owner and operator of premium student accommodation across the UK, will provide a brief trading update on Thursday, 5 July 2018, ahead of the Company's half year results for the six months ended 30 June 2018, which will be announced on Tuesday, 21 August 2018.