Empiric Student Property reported record occupancy and like-for-like rental growth for the six months ended 30 June 2023.
The company said it had experienced a “very strong start” to the year and following its best ever re-booker campaign revenue occupancy for the academic year 2023/24 is at 98%, which is ahead of the previous year.
Revenue increased 16% to £41.3m in H1 2023 compared with the same period last year and Empiric’s EPRA EPS increased 18.5% to 2.3p.
Duncan Garrood, chief executive officer of Empiric Student Property, said: “The business has experienced a very strong start to the year. Following our best ever re-booker campaign, the booking cycle for academic year 2023/24 has tracked significantly ahead of the prior year. Our accommodation is now effectively full for the forthcoming academic year with occupancy at 98%, a level achieved earlier than ever before. We are confident that like-for-like rental growth of around 9% will now be achieved, significantly ahead of previous guidance.
“The company is in great shape with improving operating margins, increased earnings per share, a robust balance sheet and significantly enhanced portfolio quality following ongoing refurbishments and execution of our non-core disposal programme. At an operational level, customer satisfaction measured through our improving Net Promoter Scores and the Platinum Operator certification awarded to our Hello Student brand, combined with the acute undersupply of high quality student accommodation, is driving increased re-bookings and greater demand for our rooms. 2023 is firmly on track to be another record year for the company.”
