Unite Group PLC (The)
08 October 2026
PRESS RELEASE
8 October 2026
THE UNITE GROUP PLC
(‘Unite Group, ‘Unite’, the ‘Group’, or the ‘Company')
TRADING UPDATE AND Q3 FUND VALUATIONS
Unite Group, the UK’s leading owner, manager and developer of student accommodation, today provides an update on current trading and quarterly property valuations for the Unite UK Student Accommodation Fund (‘USAF’) and the London Student Accommodation Joint Venture (‘LSAV’) as at 30 September 2026.
Highlights
- 95.6% of Unite beds sold for 2026/27 academic year (2025/26: 95.3%)
- Lettings deliver 0.6% like-for-like income growth for 2026/27 (Unite share)
- 92% of Empiric beds sold for 2026/27 academic year (2025/26: 87%)
- Reiterating guidance for FY2026 adjusted EPS of 41.5-43.0p
- £200 million (Unite share) disposals completed in the year to date
- Expect to deliver £300-400 million of disposals in 2026 (Unite share)
- Q3 valuations reflect yield expansion and lower occupancy for planned disposals (USAF: (4.0%), LSAV: (3.4%))
The Company will host a conference call for investors and analysts this morning at 08:30 BST. Joining details are:
TitleUnite – Q3 Trading update
Weblinkhttps://brrmedia.news/UTG_Q3_26
A recording will be available on the Company’s website following the call.
Joe Lister, Unite Group Chief Executive Officer, commented:
“We have delivered reservations in line with our expectations as student demand and university behaviour evolved through this sales cycle. This reflects the agility of our platform, our proactive approach to marketing and focus across the business to deliver income.
We are making good progress on our strategy to increase alignment to the UK’s strongest universities and are on track to deliver £300-400 million (Unite share) of disposals this year in a market which continues to adjust to higher interest rates. We have conviction that the assets which will form our future portfolio will continue to deliver a superior operating performance supported by growing demand at the strongest universities and constrained supply.”
Current trading
2026/27 lettings performance
Across the Unite Students portfolio, 95.6% of beds are now sold for the 2026/27 academic year (2025/26: 95.3%) (guidance: 94-96%). This includes 54% of beds let to universities under nomination agreements and 42% of beds let through direct-let sales (2025/26: 59% and 36% respectively). Since A-Level results, we have agreed nominations with universities for an additional 450 beds for the 2026/27 academic year, reflecting increased acceptances at the strongest universities.
Strong cities with growing student demand and constrained supply continue to deliver robust operating performance. We have seen strong performance from new developments and major refurbishments delivered in 2025 and 2026, securing additional income in London, Bristol and Edinburgh. We have also seen a 15% improvement in income in Nottingham, where targeted price reductions have driven materially higher occupancy.
We have been proactive in adapting our commercial approach through marketing, enhancements to our sales platforms and targeted price adjustments to grow our market share through both direct-let sales and nomination agreements. Our leasing performance has delivered 0.6% growth in like-for-like income (Unite share). This reflects a modest increase in occupancy and a 0.3% reduction in annual rents (RevPOR). Income growth reflects a shift in sales towards undergraduate students over postgraduates, which has impacted direct-let pricing through shorter average tenancy lengths. This provides an opportunity to secure additional income through semester and short-term lettings which could add a further 0.5% to income over the 2026/27 academic year.
Our strategy will see us increase our alignment to the UK’s strongest universities through disposals and reinvestment, leading to a more focused, higher-quality future portfolio of 55,000-60,000 beds (30 September: 70,500 beds). Our future portfolio has delivered superior occupancy of 96% and income growth of 2.5% for the 2026/27 academic year. Based on growing demand and constrained supply, we have conviction that this will continue.
Empiric (Hello Student) update
Across the Hello Student portfolio, 92% of beds are now sold for the 2026/27 academic year (2025/26: 87%) following strong sales performance in recent weeks. This performance reflects the benefits of enhancements we have made to Empiric’s sales platform as well as targeted price reductions to drive income.
Based on sales progress and broadly flat pricing, Hello Student will deliver c.5% like-for-like income growth for the 2026/27 academic year.
The integration of Empiric is progressing well, and we remain confident in delivering our targets for £9 million in cost synergies in 2026 and £18 million p.a. of run rate synergies.
Earnings guidance
Based on financial performance for the year to date and sales for the 2026/27 academic year, we reiterate our guidance for adjusted EPS of 41.5-43.0p in FY2026.
Capital allocation
Disposal activity
We are on track to deliver our guidance for £300-400 million (Unite share) of disposals this year as we execute our strategy to increase our alignment to the strongest universities and enhance the quality of our portfolio.
We are active across a range of sale processes and continue to see investor interest in the UK student accommodation sector from a range of capital sources. Transaction timelines remain protracted, reflecting uncertainty created by higher interest rates and the need for buyers and lenders to conduct comprehensive due diligence.
Our disposal programme will deliver the transition to our future portfolio as set out in our interim results in July. Progress to date includes:
- £200 million (Unite share) of completed disposals in the year to date, including our King’s Place development, at a weighted average yield of 3.0% and 6% discount to prevailing book value;
- £225 million (Unite share) of assets which are under offer and expected to close in the coming months following completion of due diligence; and
- A further 10,000 lower-growth beds are being actively marketed as well as non-PBSA properties and development land. A number of these transactions are expected to go under offer during the fourth quarter.
We will be disciplined in assessing offers for these disposals, balancing pace and pricing to maximise value for shareholders.
A strong and flexible balance sheet
Contracted disposals have reduced Net debt: EBITDA to 7.3x on a pro forma basis (30 June 2026: 7.5x), based on a full year’s contribution from the Empiric acquisition and cost synergies. LTV has reduced to 35% on a pro forma basis (30 June 2026: 36%), reflecting disposals contracted since the half year and the impact of Q3 valuations for USAF and LSAV.
Decisions around capital allocation will be made in accordance with our capital allocation framework. Disposal proceeds will be used to fund remaining spend on our committed development pipeline and reduce leverage to our target level of 6-7x Net debt: EBITDA.
Where we generate surplus capital through disposals, it will be allocated to investment opportunities offering the strongest risk-adjusted returns, which are currently share buybacks and university partnerships.
Quarterly fund valuations
Our property valuations have reduced on a like-for-like basis over the quarter, reflecting increases in property yields as a result of investors’ higher return requirements as well as reductions in rental values for those properties where income performance for 2026/27 is below previous valuer assumptions.
At 30 September 2026, USAF’s property portfolio was independently valued at£2,815 million, a 4.0% reduction on a like-for-like basis during the quarter. The valuation decrease reflects an income reduction of 1.5% and 10 basis points of yield expansion. USAF’s portfolio is now valued at a weighted average yield of 5.5%. The portfolio comprises 22,486 beds in 56 properties across 17 university towns and cities in theUK.
LSAV’s property portfolio was independently valued at£1,900 million, a 3.4% reduction on a like-for-like basis during the quarter. The valuation decrease in LSAV is driven by an income reduction of 0.8% and 11 basis points of yield expansion. LSAV’s portfolio is now valued at a weighted average yield of 5.1%. LSAV’s portfolio comprises 9,710 beds across 14 properties inLondonand Aston Student Village inBirmingham.
|
Drivers of LfL capital growth (Q3) |
||||
|
|
Valuation Sep 2026 |
Rental growth |
Yield movement
|
Capital growth* |
|
USAF |
£2,815m |
(1.5%) |
+10bps |
(4.0%) |
|
LSAV |
£1,900m |
(0.8%) |
+11bps |
(3.4%) |
|
Drivers of LfL capital growth (YTD) |
||||
|
|
Valuation Sep 2026 |
Rental growth |
Yield movement
|
Capital growth* |
|
USAF |
£2,815m |
(1.6%) |
+29bps |
(7.9%) |
|
LSAV |
£1,900m |
(0.9%) |
+40bps |
(9.1%) |
* Capital growth presented net of capital expenditure for property maintenance and improvement, but excludes fire safety spend
ENDS
For further information, please contact:
Unite Group
Joe Lister / Mike Burt / Saxon RidleyTel: +44 117 302 7005
Press officeTel: +44 117 450 6300
Kekst CNC
Tom Climie Tel: +44 7760 160 248
About Unite Group
Unite Group is the UK's largest owner, manager and developer of purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) serving the country's world-leading higher education sector. Its property portfolio includes the Unite Students and Hello Student brands. We provide homes to 72,000 students across 207 properties in 29 leading university towns and cities. We currently partner with over 60 universities across the UK.
Our people are driven by a common purpose: to provide a 'Home for Success' for the students who live with us. Our accommodation is safe and secure, high quality and affordable. Students live predominantly in en-suite study bedrooms with rents covering all bills, insurance, 24-hour security and high-speed Wi-Fi.
We are committed to raising standards in the student accommodation sector for our customers, investors and employees. Our Sustainability Strategy includes a commitment to become net zero carbon across our operations and developments by 2030.
Founded in 1991 in Bristol, the Unite Group is an award-winning Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), listed on the London Stock Exchange. For more information, visit www.unitegroup.com, www.unitestudents.com or www.hellostudent.co.uk.
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