Empiric Student Property makes 'good progress' in first half

The London-listed firm said those targets included full occupancy for the 2018/19 academic year, increasing the operating margin from 57% in the 2017 financial year to 70% over the next two years, reducing administration expenses to £10m per annum in 2018 - a reduction of 26% on 2017 - and improving dividend cover to approximately two thirds covered by adjusted earnings in FY 2018 and fully covered in FY 2019.

Bookings for the 2018/19 academic year were continuing to progress well, the board claimed, and were currently at 76% compared to 63% at the same time last year, and up from 57% as announced by the company on 25 April.

“The programme of bringing all facilities management in-house in stages by 1 April 2019 is on track, with 33% of the group's properties expected to be transferred in-house by 1 September,” the board reported in its statement.

“The management of all utilities has already been successfully transferred in-house from 1 July 2018.

“The first significant cost savings from this transfer in-house of facilities management are expected in the fourth quarter of 2018 as third party costs begin to fall away.”

Empiric also announced that Lynne Fennah had been appointed to the dual roles of chief operating officer and chief financial officer, with effect from 1 July.

Since December 2017, Fennah had led and assumed responsibility for all day-to-day operating activities of the company and, in recognition of the continued positive financial and operational progress of the group, the board said it had decided to formalise those responsibilities.

Tim Attlee remained acting chief executive officer and chief investment officer of the company.

“To help support and continue the group's financial and operational progress as well as the significant work to implement successfully the programme of bringing in-house all facilities management and support services, a new group financial controller and head of facilities management were appointed in December 2017 and on 2 July respectively,” the board said.

“The board is making good progress in its search for a new non-executive chairman and expects to make a further announcement in the near term.”

Empiric said it would release its half-year results for the six months ended 30 June on 21 August.