Empiric Student Property’s assets are almost fully booked for the next academic year, ahead of expectations.
However, the firm said it had “largely paused our development and acquisition pipeline” due to market uncertainty.
The student property specialist said it had achieved record occupancy of 98% across its portfolio, as like-for-like rents rose by 5.2%.
Chief executive Duncan Garrood said: “We enter the 2022/23 academic year in a strong position, driven by the improvements we continue to make to our operational platform and portfolio. This is underpinned by resilient demand for high-quality student accommodation.”
Occupancy for the 2021/22 academic year was 86%. Empiric’s guidance for this year was between 90% and 95%.
UK students now represent 50% of bookings, the balance being 29% Chinese and 21% other international. This is a marked change from before the pandemic, where it was approximately one-third each.
In a trading update this morning, Empiric said: “Given the current market volatility, we have largely paused our development and acquisition pipeline.”
Garrood added: “The wider economic outlook remains uncertain, however the higher education sector is known for its resilience and we expect UK universities to remain attractive to both domestic and international students.”
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