The Board of Empiric Student Property plc (ticker: ESP), the owner and operator of premium student accommodation across the UK, is pleased to announce that Lynne Fennah will join the Company as Chief Financial Offer with effect from 26 June 2017.

Baroness Dean, Chairman of Empiric Student Property plc, commented:

"We are delighted that Lynne Fennah is joining the Board of Empiric and look forward to working with her in continuing the growth and success of the Company. She has significant experience in real estate and specific knowledge of the hospitality sector, a combination which we believe will be invaluable as Empiric continues to develop. It is important that our tenants enjoy the best possible experience, to which Hello Student® is integral, and a good understanding of the hospitality sector will help with this, especially in delivering increased efficiencies from the platform - Lynne will bring her critical knowledge to this role. Lynne is a welcome addition to our Executive Team to work alongside Paul Hadaway, CEO, and Tim Attlee, CIO.

"In the meantime, Nigel Turner will remain as Interim Head of Finance of the Company until further notice."

Lynne is a Chartered Accountant (having trained at Moore Stephens) with over 30 years' experience, including in the real estate and hospitality sectors. Most recently, she has been Chief Financial Officer of Palmer Capital Partners Limited ("Palmer Capital"), a role she has held since 2012, overseeing the company's financial and taxation matters as well as being a member of the Risk Committee. Palmer Capital, which is FCA regulated, is a real estate investment management company which manages, directly or through its affiliated companies, assets worth approximately £1 billion.

Prior to joining Palmer Capital, Lynne spent five years with Australian based TOGA Group as European CFO. TOGA Group is a developer of residential property and a leading hotel operator, overseeing 70 hotels across six brands located in Australasia and Europe. Lynne was responsible for managing the group's activities in Europe, including the development of hotels across the region and management of its commercial property investments.

Previously, Lynne held senior financial management roles with The Goodwood Estate Company Limited, latterly as Group Financial and IT Director, a board position with responsibility for the finances of all the group companies across the various operations including the Goodwood Hotel, Goodwood Racecourse and flagship events such as the Festival of Speed.