Empiric Share News (ESP)

(ShareCast News) - Student accommodation owner and operator Empiric Student Property announced on Monday that it has acquired the freehold of a 31-bed student accommodation property in Bath for £2.6m excluding costs.The London-listed firm said 2 Oolite Road is a newly-constructed student accommodation asset that was completed in May for the 2016-2017 academic year.It said the property comprises 31 beds in a mix of four, five and six bed en-suite apartments, and is located in a popular residential area on the university side of Bath city centre, with local bus routes providing access to the city and the university campus.The property was acquired by IESIS Ltd, an established local developer and operator of purpose-built student accommodation in Bath and Bristol, which is currently developing 1-3 James Street West in Bath on behalf of Empiric.Hello Student will be responsible for managing the Oolite Road scheme, Empiric confirmed."We are very pleased to have acquired our fifth student accommodation property in Bath," said Empiric chief executive Paul Hadaway."At the start of the 2016-2017 academic year, we will have a total of 385 beds in operation in Bath, all of which are subject to nomination agreements with the University of Bath."Hadaway said that as a UNESCO World Heritage city, there are limited opportunities for suitable development sites in Bath, which has two universities with increasing student numbers and applications."Further, the provision of this purpose-built accommodation ensures that the existing limited housing stock in the city is not under additional pressure for student accommodation."This acquisition is in line with Empiric's investment criteria and returns profile," Hadaway added.Empiric Student confirmed it has entered into a nomination agreement with the University of Bath in respect of the property.It said the agreement is for five years from commencement in September 2015, over which time the beds will be directly let at current market rates to students provided by the university, on the same terms as the nomination agreement in place for the group's four other assets in Bath.In a separate announcement, Empiric Student's board announced it has agreed a new loan facility of £32.8m with AIB Group.The facility is secured against a portfolio of five forward-funded assets, held as a lending group through a wholly owned subsidiary Empiric Investments (Six) Ltd.