UPP is rising above the recent doom and gloom as it celebrates another spectacular year with occupancy levels of more than 99 per cent across its portfolio of university partners.
Media Centre
At UPP we are proud of the success our team and university partners achieve. We are always pleased to see our unique model, staff and partners gaining recognition for all their hard work. Below you will find the most recent media coverage of our activities, if you would like to find out more please visit our Publications page, to read our latest newsletter – or - if you are a journalist please visit the Press Centre.
14/05/2012 - UPP raise £50k and win silver medals in The Prince’s Trust Arctic Adventure Challenge
UPP has raised over £50,000 for The Prince’s Trust Arctic Adventure Challenge. The six strong team competed in a series of challenges in the blistering cold; with temperatures reaching as cold as minus 20 degrees.
Becky Rawle, The Prince’s Trust Adventure Challenges Team, said: “Team UPP were a fantastic group to have on the Challenge. The Prince’s Trust relies on the support of fundraisers like Team UPP, and their passion for The Trust has led them to raise a phenomenal amount of money, which will make a huge difference to disadvantaged young people across the UK”.
Duncan Palmer, Managing Director of URSL said: “We could not have made this trip happen without the generous help of our friends, the staff at UPP, and our supply chain. We have been overwhelmed by the response. Thank you to everyone that supported this incredible event”.
08/05/2012 - UPP team up with the Prince’s Trust to get young people into work in Plymouth
UPP has teamed up with youth charity The Prince’s Trust to run a course designed to help unemployed young people into work. For the past two weeks, UPP and its university partner, Plymouth University, have hosted 13 unemployed 16 – 25 year olds on The Prince’s Trust ‘Get into Facilities Management’ course. The course has been really successful with one young person getting a job as a trainee cleaner for UPP, as a result.
Sean O’Shea, Chief Executive of UPP, said: “Our long-standing partnership with The Prince’s Trust continues to provide more young people with the opportunities they need to build a career. At this time, it is especially important that we join up with the communities in which we work to provide training opportunities and to invest in our workforce of the future. We are delighted to be working with the Plymouth University on this programme, and would like to thank them for all their help and support.”
26/04/2012 - UPP Director of Strategy comments on Student Experience Survey
Commenting on the Times Higher Education Student Experience Survey, where university partners Lancaster came joint second, and Loughborough ranked joint fourth, Jon Wakeford Director of Strategy, said:
“Although there has been a slight dip in applications this year, we believe the trend will be similar to the introduction of top-up [tuition] fees, and we’ll see growth in student applications next year. In the vast majority of cases, UPP accommodation is designed to house new undergraduate students - 18-year-olds - and applications from this group have held up well, falling by 3.6 per cent. We do not envisage any real fall in demand for accommodation as demand still outstrips supply.”
25/04/2012 - UPP respond to growing rent roll by appointment of new Group Director
UPP has today announced the appointment of Sam Bailey-Watts to the UPP Group Board. This appointment reflects UPP’s strategy to maintain and strengthen its partnership approach across its growing portfolio. UPP’s fully built out forecasted rent roll is in excess of £113m, and Sam Bailey-Watts will head up the company’s drive to secure annual revenue and deliver operational best practice.
Sean O’Shea, Chief Executive of UPP, said: “I am delighted to welcome Sam Bailey-Watts to UPP’s Group Board. UPP has always recognised the need to understand the challenges and aspirations of our partners and Sam brings with him a wealth of experience from the HE sector and has an excellent track record of driving innovation and sector leading levels of occupancy across the UPP portfolio. Sam will play a crucial strategic role in maintaining and deepening the strong existing relationships that we enjoy, working with each university to deliver forecasted revenue as well as offering valuable advice to clients during a period of change.”
11/04/2012 - UPP Gets the Go-Ahead for renewal of Bridges Hall at the University of Reading
UPP received unanimous approval from Wokingham Borough Council for the replacement of student residences at the University of Reading’s Whiteknight Campus. The scheme represents the final phase of the Whiteknights Campus student residences replacement plan, and responds to a demand from students for high quality, affordable accommodation on the site.
The scheme will provide a range of accommodation types to cater for different student requirements, including en-suite cluster flats, town houses, and economy cluster flats.