Ely Property Agrees to Acquire UK Student Accommodation Site

Newcourt Group plc (‘Newcourt’ or the ‘Group’) (LSE:NEW) (ISE:NEW), a leading, Irish based, support services group, today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Ely Property Group Limited (‘Ely’) has entered into an agreement to acquire 100% of Damianos Holdings Limited, which owns a development site in North London, adjacent to the London Metropolitan University. Currently there are 17,560 full time students enrolled at this University. The acquisition is conditional on the achievement of satisfactory planning permission for the development of a student residence at the site. No consideration is payable should planning permission not be achieved. The consideration payable is dependent on the number of units achieved in the planning permission. Ely estimates that the consideration would be £17 million (€23 million) based on planning permission for 500 units. Philip Marley, Ely Property CEO, commented "This acquisition reflects our commitment to further develop Ely's student accommodation business in particular in the growing London market where we have recently strengthened our management team. Currently there are approximately 251,515 full time students in London. This number is growing at over 6% per annum.” Philip continued, "This development, on a site with excellent potential for student accommodation, would represent a significant addition to our current beds under management.” About Newcourt Group plc Newcourt is a leading provider of support services, employing over 3,200 staff throughout the island of Ireland. The Group has four operating divisions: Support Services, Student Accommodation, Recruitment and Aviation Outsourcing. About Ely Property Group Ely Property Group is engaged in the development and management of student accommodation in Ireland and the UK.