UPP, a provider of on-campus residential and academic accommodation infrastructure announces that Mark Bamford has been appointed as its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Mark joined the Executive Leadership Team on 3 October, reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer.
“It’s great to be working closely with Mark, who brings a wealth of experience to the role of CFO. His appointment strengthens UPP’s Executive Leadership Team, enabling us to develop and grow the business for the benefit of our partners, our students and our people.”
Elaine Hewitt, Chief Executive Officer, UPP
Mark qualified as a Chartered Accountant (ICAEW) in 2001. He joins UPP from Thames Water where he has been Group Financial Controller and Finance Director Operations and Capital Delivery since 2017. Mark has 25 years of experience in the telecommunications, utilities, financial and professional services sectors. At Thames Water, he was responsible for managing revenues of over £2bn and operational and capital expenditure in excess of £2bn per annum, across Thames Water’s 15 million customers and 7,000 employees.
Before joining Thames Water, Mark spent six years at Arqiva, the UK communications and broadcasting infrastructure company, in the roles of Finance Director and Director, Wireless Infrastructure Management. Mark has also held a role as Vice President at Macquarie Group, the global financial services provider.
“I am delighted to have joined UPP, and particularly so given the strong partnerships in place with universities nationally and the scale of the opportunities across the Higher Education market. UPP has an incredibly robust business model, and this is a testament to the energy, dedication and skill of our teams, who I am very much looking forward to meeting over the coming months.
“UPP is about empowering and enabling universities to deliver to their aspirations and in turn those of their students, and so I am also looking forward to playing my part in helping UPP to deliver next generation campuses.”
Mark Bamford, Chief Financial Officer, UPP
UPP currently has approximately 35,000 rooms in operation or under construction through long-term, bespoke partnerships with 15 world-leading universities. With approximately 1,000 employees, since 1998, the company has invested over £3.5bn in the UK higher education sector and provided homes to over 450,000 students.
