UPP Group Holdings Limited (UPP), the UK’s leading provider of on-campus residential and academic accommodation infrastructure, and its Parent Company UPP REIT Holdings Limited, have announced the appointment of Elaine Hewitt as its new Chief Executive Officer. A Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), Elaine joins UPP from NHS Property Services where she has been Chief Executive Officer since 2015 and was responsible for managing and servicing a €3.5bn (£3bn) asset portfolio, some 4,000 properties, 5,000 employees and an annual income of more than €821.4m (£700m). NHS Property Services has raised over €352m (£300m) in the past three years alone through real estate disposals which have been reinvested in upgrading the NHS estate.
Elaine will join the Business on 1 April 2020, succeeding current CEO Richard Bienfait, who announced in September 2019 that he would be leaving the Company at the end of January 2020. Richard is departing UPP to take up the role of Chief Financial Officer at Mace, the international construction and consulting company.
Robert McClatchey, Chairman of UPP Group Holdings Limited, said: “Elaine’s appointment as Chief Executive Officer comes at an important moment for the Company and the wider student accommodation sector. In an increasingly competitive market where affordability and quality are high on the agenda, not just for students but also for regulators of higher education, her considerable experience and expertise in delivering facilities and property services will reinforce UPP’s position as the leading on-campus accommodation provider. I look forward to working with Elaine to continue to drive UPP’s long-standing and successful strategic focus on the delivery of controlled, value-accretive growth.”
Elaine Hewitt said: “I am delighted to be joining UPP at such an interesting time in the evolution of the UK higher education sector which, like the NHS, forms a vital part of the national fabric and economy. I am looking forward to building on the achievements and successes of my predecessors, working with members of its talented team and delivering on UPP’s strategic commitments to operational excellence, long-term partnerships and generating value for reinvestment in the future growth of the Business.”
