Empiric Student Property has acquired the freehold of a new 92-bed purpose-built studio asset in a prime location in Bristol city centre from McLaren Property for €22.7m (£19m). The purchase price is being funded from the company’s existing resources.
The property, which was completed in September 2021, has 100% of the beds let for the current academic year, and it is in line with our strategy of driving operational performance and returns through clustering our properties serving key UK universities, which have strong and growing fundamentals. Currently, Empiric has two operational assets in Bristol (159 beds), with a third in development (153 beds) that is due to be completed in time for the academic year 2022/23. With this acquisition, we will have a total of 404 beds in the city for the academic year 2022/23.
The property, on Baldwin Street, is in a prime city-centre location close to the University of Bristol and the Company’s other assets in the city. The property is a new high-quality purpose-built construction behind a retained façade, developed by McLaren Property with strong ESG credentials and built to the latest regulatory standards. It has an EPC B rating and is BREEAM Very Good certified, with a range of energy-saving initiatives and wellbeing measures. The 92 studio beds are all designed with students in mind with high-specification fixtures and fittings, each with en-suite bathrooms and fitted kitchens. There are high-quality communal areas and facilities throughout the property, as well as an ancillary commercial unit.
Duncan Garrood, Chief Executive Officer of Empiric Student Property plc, commented: “We are pleased to acquire this new purpose-built studio asset in a prime location in Bristol city centre, strengthening our presence in this key university city and ensuring that we are in an enhanced position to cater for the strong and increasing numbers of both domestic and international students wanting to attend the University of Bristol. We see significant opportunities to deliver operational efficiencies and enhanced income and capital returns from this asset over the short and longer-term, supported by our Hello Student® brand and operating platform, our clustering strategy and the ongoing attractive demand/supply fundamentals in Bristol, in addition to letting the retail unit.”
John Gatley, Chief Executive Officer of McLaren Property, said: “We are delighted to have completed the sale of this high-quality fully-let Bristol city centre asset to Empiric, demonstrating that well-located and high-quality student accommodation remains in high demand from both students and investors. We look forward to continuing to build relationships with Empiric and other institutions as we expand our development pipeline across key university cities.”
