Empiric reports slow recovery in student bookings as portfolio value slips

Empiric Student Property has noted that bookings for the 2021/22 academic year are “significantly slower” than pre-pandemic levels, as it disclosed a slight reduction in portfolio value for the year ending December. Empiric said current bookings for the next academic year are at 20%, which is “significantly slower than in pre-Covid-19 cycles”. However, it has started to see an uplift in bookings since the government unveiled its roadmap to exit lockdown. It added that it expects the sales cycle will be “significantly back-ended”, since universities are late in advising places for the academic year. The student housing provider’s portfolio was valued at just over £1bn, falling by 2% on the previous year. The net loss from the change in value of its investment portfolio was £37.6m, compared with a £29.2m gain in 2019. The group made a pretax loss of £24m, down from £54.8m profit in the previous year. Revenue fell by 16% to £59.4m during the year ending December, mainly driven by £6.5m of refunds to students from April to September, lower occupancy and a missed £700,000 in summer lettings. EPRA net tangible asset value per share stood at 105p at the end of the year, compared with 110.2p at the same point in the previous year. The group has £34m in cash and £30m of undrawn investment debt facilities. It has no refinancing requirements until November 2022. To send feedback, e-mail pui-guan.man@egi.co.uk or tweet @PuiGuanM or @estatesgazette