Empiric Student Property (ESP) reported an increase in revenue, gross margin and rental growth for the first six months of 2024 and said it was on track for its best ever re-booker campaign.
Revenue grew 2.7% to £42.4m, gross margin improved by 0.5% points to 72.2% and the company delivered like-for-like rental growth of 10.5%. The value of the company’s portfolio increased 1.3% net on a like-for-like basis to £1,134.9m
Revenue occupancy for the academic year 2024/25 is currently at 92% and the company expects it to exceed 97%, with the re-booker rate set to exceed the 22% achieved in the previous academic year. Average weekly rents are also expected to exceed 6% on a like-for-like basis for the academic year 2024/25.
Duncan Garrood, chief executive officer of Empiric Student Property, said: “It has been an active first half of the year with good progress made across the board, including the growth of our portfolio through acquisitions, the submission of planning applications and our successful refurbishments programme. We continue to experience strong demand for our high-quality, well-located accommodation, with the booking cycle for the forthcoming 2024/25 academic year providing confidence in the delivery of strong occupancy and rental growth that surpasses inflation.
“Operationally, the business continues to perform very well with our net promoter score and customer satisfaction rate advancing year-on-year, underpinning improved re-booker rates, which are on track to be our best ever.”
