Student landlord fears for occupancy target amid fall in Chinese students

Other international students made up 27%, while UK domestic students rose to 43% of total bookings.

Empiric also experienced some localised supply and demand imbalances in Nottingham, Sheffield and Glasgow, where available rooms account for over five percentage points of lost occupancy.

The student landlord said that achieving its occupancy target for this academic year will be “challenging” if current conditions persist.

It added that it will focus on the spring intake for postgraduate courses during the January letting period, and is “actively seeking to capitalise on the increasingly popular shorter-term student lettings market”.

Like-for-like rental growth for the academic year, representing rooms sold for both the current and prior academic years, is at 4.5% in line with guidance.

The sale of Pavilion Court in Canterbury, which Empiric described as a non-top-tier aligned city, was completed in August and generated gross proceeds of £7.5m.

Using money it raised in 2024, Empiric has also refurbished three properties in Bath, Sheffield and Southampton to make them more efficient, while its property in Bristol is on track to open early next year.

The landlord is also planning to refurbish around 300 student beds before September next year, and smart heating systems have been installed across 55% of its portfolio.

As of September 2025, Empiric’s loan-to-value was 27.3%, with its weighted average cost of debt at 4.4%. Cash and available facilities totalled £101.8m.

In Empiric’s full-year results announced in March 2025, it set out a dividend target for the year of 3.7 pence per share. It has now changed its target dividend to 0.9 pence per share for the third quarter to September 2025.

Duncan Garrood, chief executive officer of Empiric Student Property, said: “The booking cycle for academic year 2025-26 has seen an increase in reservations from UK students and a reduction in the number of Chinese students staying with us, potentially the result of geopolitical events.

“Rental growth remains in line with guidance and we are well-positioned for January sales activity.

“All the while, we have continued to improve the quality of the portfolio whilst delivering on capital deployment commitments.”

In the summer, Empiric agreed to a cash-and-shares offer from giant student landlord Unite Students, with the deal expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2026.

Under the deal, Empiric will be handing over its Hello Student brand to Unite, which is tailored to second and third-year undergraduates, as well as postgraduate students – a demographic not typically served by traditional purpose-built student accommodation providers.

It will also create a combined portfolio worth approximately £10.5bn, comprised of around 75,000 student beds, with 92% located in cities home to Russell Group universities.