UPP

As a leading student accommodation provider committed to community, respect and working in partnership with the top universities in the country, UPP has long been committed to designing and building inclusive spaces for students to live in. We are conscious of the need for diverse living spaces which cater to all students. We have built a range of room types, from studios to family-friendly options, creating a sense of belonging and allowing for personalisation. Our commitment to variety extends to accommodating different lifestyles, interests, and cultural practices. Click here to read about our collaboration with the University of Exeter: https://bit.ly/3Vb9CKO

This year, UPP has chosen the Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association as our charity partner. Since our partnership with the MND Association began in May, thanks to the hard work, imagination, and dedication of colleagues across the country we have raised £12,167. This has now been matched by UPP Gives, a partnership between UPP and the UPP Foundation. This brings UPP's total donation to an impressive £24,124, which will help the Association support more people with MND and their families. We have completed a whole host of fundraising activities, from cycle relays linking our university campus sites, a food fiesta at halls in London and mountain climbs of the highest peaks in England and Wales. We are planning even more fundraising at sites across the country to raise even more for this fantastic cause. Thanks to all UPP colleagues for getting involved!

Last week UPP attended one of the largest gatherings of the higher education sector. The two-day Wonkhe Festival of Higher Education included a UPP Foundation panel discussion focussed on the role of universities in their places, drawing on the leading role of the Kerslake Collection, published earlier this year. Chaired by Richard Brabner, the panel included: Professor Sir Chris Husbands, Director of Higher Futures Michael Wood, Head of Economic Partnerships at the NHS Confederation Helen Turner, Chief Executive of Midlands Innovation Fiona Walsh, Director of Partnerships at Student Hubs Around 200 people attended a lively discussion on the insights from the Kerslake Collection. Meanwhile the conference heard about the real pressures of the cost of living crisis faced by students every day. Today's students are working more hours to try to keep up with costs, which means they are travelling more to get between work and campus multiple times a week. There is much that we can do as a student accommodation provider. For example at our Reading campus, we offer a variety of job opportunities to students that can be undertaken alongside university studies. These part-time opportunities offer flexible working hours that can be tailored to fit around students’ university schedules, allowing them to earn money without compromising their academic commitments. To find out more about job opportunities for students at UPP, visit our website: https://bit.ly/3XfUr3a

Congratulations to a team of UPP colleagues who have completed an amazing fundraising challenge! On Halloween night, the team walked over 42 miles between our Exeter and Plymouth sites, across the unforgiving terrain of Dartmoor, all to raise funds for St Luke's Hospice, Plymouth. We're so proud of the team for this fantastic achievement: they have already raised more than double their target of £1000. You can sponsor the UPP team and help this very worthy cause online: https://bit.ly/3NZzc1n

UPP, the leading on-campus student accommodation provider, has appointed Simon Boorne to the position of Chief Investment Officer leading on business development, asset finance and investment management. Simon, a Chartered Accountant, joined the business in 2013 has driven major growth for UPP, having been instrumental in achieving financial close on multiple schemes and has structured and executed transactions worth over £1bn. Elaine Hewitt, CEO said “We are pleased to appoint Simon as Chief Investment Officer. We have ambitious plans to deliver sustainable campus development and Simon will be key in driving UPP forward on this journey.” Simon Boorne added “I am delighted to take up the role of Chief Investment Officer at UPP and look forward to continuing to work with the team to deliver our growth plans”.

Thanks to Laura Andrews for showing the family side of UPP!

We have an exciting new opportunity for a Safety, Health & Wellbeing Advisor, who will work closely with the UPP Residential Regional Leadership and Senior Managers from all other business areas. This role will support, guide and influence managers on a common and consistent approach to all safety, health and wellbeing matters, aligned to UPP’s values, using a holistic approach. To find out more about this position, which covers the London and South region including our Reading, Oxford, Exeter and Swansea campuses, check out our careers hub: https://bit.ly/3YxsKEU

As students settle in to their new accommodation at our sites across the country, we have been reflecting on successful welcome weekends. Teams at all of our sites helped students into their new home ahead of the start of the academic year. Supporting students and their families to arrive, find their way around, get checked in and settled is no mean feat and we are proud to say the process went well. These pictures from Swansea, Reading, Nottingham and Oxford show just a snapshot of the hard work and planning required to run a successful intake weekend; thanks to colleagues across UPP for all your hard work!

Today we were with our Director of Energy and Environmental Sustainability Tom Yearley at our accommodation in Stratford, East London, looking at the biodiversity improvements we're making, both here and across our estate. Our sector-leading strategy sets us an ambitious target to improve biodiversity at student accommodation complexes across the country. We're pledging to achieve a 10% Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) across UPP properties, meaning we'll be carrying out measurable habitat improvements with a long-term biodiversity benefit. This includes planting new trees and planters, enhancing green roofs and installing herb gardens, supporting both our BNG target and our resident's wellbeing. Check out our latest sustainability report to read more about the biodiversity improvements we are planning across UPP.

We are very proud to announce we have achieved a GRESB (Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark) score of 93% for 2023/24. GRESB is the external standard across the asset management and real estate sectors and the score provides independent, quantitative assessment of our ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) performance in absolute terms, over time and against our industry. We published our first ESG Report in 2023 which outlined specific roadmaps to deliver our ESG targets. The report is published annually and sets out our progress on improved recycling rates, reduced carbon emissions and increased biodiversity at our student accommodation sites across the country. We have also added significant social value, through partnering with social enterprises and fundraising to support charitable causes, and in ensuring robust governance processes. We continue to have ambitious plans to build an even more sustainable business - targeting a science-based net zero carbon trajectory, sending zero waste to landfill, a 20% reduction in water usage and a 10% net gain in biodiversity across the UPP estate. These are ambitious goals but we have already made strong progress towards them - the GRESB rating is further validation of that. Read all about our sustainability goals, including the most recent Sustainability Report, covering 2022-23: https://bit.ly/401mvdH