(Alliance News) - Empiric Student Property PLC on Wednesday announced the departure of co-founder & Chief Executive Tim Attlee.
Attlee helped with the student accommodation owner's float in London in 2014. He was chief investment officer until December 2017, when he became interim CEO, taking up the role permanently a year later.
London-based Empiric said Attlee will remain in his position until the end of June to help with the handover. A search for a successor has begun.
"The board and I are extremely grateful for the significant contribution Tim has made to the business, particularly over the last two years," said Chair Mark Pain.
"Tim, working closely with Lynne, has transformed the group into a fully integrated operational property business. This work is now largely complete. We are now turning our attention to embedding the changes we have made to the business, driving further improvements to the financial and operational performance of the group and delivering sustainable benefits to the company's shareholders, customers and wider stakeholders in 2020 and over the longer term," Pain continued.
Empiric also released annual results on Wednesday, showing EPRA net asset value per share rose 4% over 2019, ending the year at 110.2 pence. The value of the company's property portfolio increased 6% over the year to GBP1.03 billion.
Pretax profit was 36% higher at GBP54.8 million, with revenue rising 11% to GBP70.9 million. The total return improved to 8.6% from 6.5%.
Empiric declared four quarterly dividends during the year of 1.25p each, meaning a full-year total of 5.0p, the same as the year before.
"This is the second successive year of improved margins, dividend cover and total returns, financial indicators which reflect the continuing benefits of our business transformation. Positive customer satisfaction results and significantly improved colleague engagement scores demonstrate that the business transformation is benefitting customers and colleagues as well as shareholders," said CEO Attlee.
"In 2020, we expect to build on the progress we have made in 2019, as we continue to drive revenue and reduce costs, creating a solid base for sustainable growth."
Empiric said bookings for the 2020-2021 academic year are in line with bookings a year ago. It is unclear, the firm said, how Covid-19 will impact the student population and higher education in general.
Shares were 4.6% lower on Wednesday morning in London at a price of 53.80p each.
By George Collard; georgecollard@alliancenews.com
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Empiric (ESP)