Unite Group 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%))

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 the UK.

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 in London and Aston Student Village in Birmingham.

 * Capital growth presented net of capital expenditure for property maintenance and improvement, but excludes fire safety spend

Trading Update FAQs

Unite Group is the UK’s leading owner, manager and developer of student accommodation.

Please see below responses to frequently asked questions following our most recent Trading Update (8th October 2026), providing greater detail and insight into our strategy as we accelerate our alignment towards the UK’s strongest universities.

1. What is Unite Group’s strategy?

• Our strategy is to be the partner of choice for the UK’s strongest universities. This means developing and operating the right properties in the right cities and running the UK’s largest and most sophisticated student operating platform.
• We are accelerating our alignment to the UK’s strongest universities, creating a more focused, higher-quality future portfolio of around 55,000-60,000 beds in cities with growing demand and constrained supply.
• We are creating a portfolio with stronger occupancy, rental growth and profitability characteristics over time.

2. What is Unite Group’s current guidance?

• We are delivering a strong operational performance, and we expect to deliver adjusted EPS of 41.5-43.0p in FY2026 in line with guidance.
• Across the Unite Students portfolio we have achieved 95.6 % occupancy for the 2026/27 academic year, which is at the upper end of guidance (94-96%).
• Our leasing performance has delivered 0.6% growth in like-for-like income for 2026/27.
• Our agile sales platforms and proactive approach to marketing delivered overall income. We are confident the assets in our future portfolio will continue to deliver a superior operating performance.

3. What progress has Unite Group made with the integration of the Hello Student platform since the Empiric acquisition?

• We’re proud of the progress we have made since the acquisition of Empiric completed in January 2026, and we’re confident that the complementary Hello Student platform enhances our ability to support students throughout their academic journey, particularly in the returner and postgraduate segments.
• We remain confident in delivering £9 million of cost synergies in 2026 and have identified £18 million in annual run rate synergies from 2027.
• Across the Hello Student portfolio, 92% of beds are now reserved for the 2026/27 academic year (2025/26: 87%) following a strong sales performance reflecting the benefits of enhancements we have made to Empiric’s sales platform as well as targeted price reductions to drive income.
• Hello Student will deliver c.5% like-for-like income growth for the 2026/27 academic year.
• Our focus is now on embedding operational best practice and commercial discipline ahead of full integration later this year.

4. What is occupancy for the upcoming academic year?

• Across the Unite Students portfolio, 95.6% of beds are now sold for the 2026/27 academic year, which is at the upper end of guidance (94-96%).
• We are growing our alignment to the UK’s strongest universities in markets with growing demand and constrained supply, through disposals and reinvestment. Our future portfolio has delivered superior occupancy (96%) and income growth (2.5%) for the 2026/27 academic year.
• Our strong university relationships, including long-term nomination agreements with university partners, continue to support occupancy and pricing, for example at the newly completed Hawthorne House in Stratford, London, which is fully let for 2026/27 and supported by a long-term nomination agreement with University of the Arts London for 51% of beds.
• We’re pleased with the success of our marketing campaign Live. Your. Now., and ongoing improvements to our customer website and booking experience have increased our conversion rates by more than 30% since November 2025.
• 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. Leasing performance has delivered 0.6% like-for-like income growth for 2026/27 reflecting our focus on overall income.
• Using our deep sector insight, we tailor pricing initiatives by city and property to help drive income growth.

5. Why is Unite Group carrying out disposals?

• The disposal programme reflects our view that our capital should be concentrated in the markets and assets with the strongest long-term fundamentals.
• This is about improving the quality, focus and long-term earnings profile of the business, rather than simply reducing scale.
• We have exchanged or completed £200 million (Unite share) of disposals and expect to deliver £300-400 million of disposals in 2026. As part of the wider portfolio review, we have identified 15,000-20,000 beds for sale and expect to bring substantially all of them to market this year to help reshape the portfolio.
• We are recycling capital from lower-growth assets into areas where we see the strongest risk-adjusted returns, currently share buybacks and university partnerships, while delivering our committed development pipeline.
• We are currently 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. Progress to date includes:
  o £200 million (Unite share) of exchanged or completed 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;
  o £225 million (Unite share) of assets which are under offer and expected to close in the coming months following completion of due diligence; and
  o 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.
• Together with our committed pipeline and future investment activity, this will increase the portfolio’s alignment to the UK’s strongest universities leading to a more focused, higher-quality portfolio with a presence in around 20 cities.

6. How is Unite Group supporting its university partners with their accommodation needs?

• We are the partner of choice for the UK’s strongest universities. We provide high-quality homes in prime locations with best-in-class amenities and 24/7 student support, creating a stand-out student experience.
• Our sales platform combines a direct-let channel with nomination agreements which allow our university partners to offer high-quality beds to their students.
• Additionally, our newest joint ventures (JVs) with Newcastle University and Manchester Metropolitan University offer access to on-campus opportunities where we are partnering with leading institutions, providing essential accommodation for their students. This remains a significant growth opportunity for the business in the next 5-10 years and one we would not be able to access without investing alongside universities.

7. What differentiates Unite Group’s platform from peers?

• The strength of our operating platform means we have several value creation levers at our disposal, including our technology platform RESx360 and direct marketing campaigns to students and universities.
• Our complementary portfolio means we can support students throughout their academic journey, from first-year students to postgraduates.
• Our trusted relationships with senior university leaders mean we have secured several long-term nominations agreements with university partners, growing our income visibility and support occupancy and pricing.

8. What is the outlook for the PBSA sector?

• The strongest university cities continue to capture an increased share of student numbers, driving increased housing need. At the same time, the availability of new supply is constrained by the increased cost of capital and complex planning and safety requirements for PBSA.
• The UK’s strongest universities continue to excel and they will retain their enduring appeal. The evidence shows that graduate earnings premiums align with university quality and this is demonstrated by the strong growth in both domestic and international demand for the coming academic year.
• UK universities have increased acceptances of undergraduate students, who make up 82% of our customer demand, by 1% for the 2026/27 academic year. The UK’s strongest universities, to which our portfolio is aligned continue to outperform the wider sector with high-tariff institutions growing acceptances by 6%.
• Our strategy is to increase our alignment to the UK’s strongest universities to capture this demand and deliver long-term, sustainable income.

9. What is the impact of the Renters’ Rights Act on Unite Group tenancy agreements?

• Due to the Renters’ Rights Act (effective 1 May 2026), students for the 2025/26 academic year were able to serve notice to terminate their tenancy agreements with two months’ notice, which prompted some students to terminate their contracts early. However, all new PBSA tenancies for the 2026/27 academic year will be exempt from the regulations.
• This is a one-off impact for a transitional arrangement which we anticipated and planned for.
• The impact has been reflected in our existing earnings guidance.

10. Who are Unite Group’s competitors?

• Unite Group is the UK’s largest owner, manager and developer of purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA), and the only listed player in the UK market.
• Our competitors include private PBSA providers, university halls, and privately rented shared houses.