Student property firm Empiric sees revenue occupancy increase to 84 per cent

Owner and operator of student accommodation Empiric Student Property said it has achieved a good performance at the start of 2021/22 academic year.
By Ismail Mulla
Published 2nd Feb 2022, 08:19 BST
Updated 2nd Feb 2022, 08:20 BST
Algernon Firth is owned by Empiric.Algernon Firth is owned by Empiric.
Algernon Firth is owned by Empiric.

Revenue occupancy across its portfolio has increased from 81 per cent to 84 per cent, since its announcement on November 5. This is at the upper end of its guidance range provided on August 12 of between 75 per cent to 85 per cent revenue occupancy for the 2021/22 academic year.

The group, which owns the Algernon Firth building in Leeds, currently has a greater proportion of UK domestic students in its properties compared to pre-Covid levels - now representing 48 per cent of bookings, the balance being 26 per cent Chinese and 26 per cent other international. This compares to its pre-pandemic breakdown of approximately one third each for UK, Chinese and other international.

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Duncan Garrood, CEO of Empiric Student Property, said: "We are pleased that our revenue occupancy for the academic year 2021/22 is towards the top end of our guidance at 84 per cent, despite the academic year being clearly impacted by the pandemic. We are also encouraged by the start of our booking cycle for the forthcoming academic year 2022/23.

"We continue to make good progress in actively managing our portfolio to recycle capital and drive returns for our shareholders.

"With our latest disposal of a portfolio of five assets for £26.5m in line with the latest book value, we have now sold a total of £44.6m of non-core assets, with ongoing discussions regarding further non-core property disposals.

"We are also pleased to be pushing ahead with our outstanding developments and that our planned refurbishment works are on track, all of which will further improve the quality of our portfolio.

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"The board continues to target a dividend of at least 2.5 pence for the financial year 2022, all else remaining equal."

The firm expects strong demand from both domestic and international students, supported by the ongoing lifting of restrictions and opening up of international travel.

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