Media & PR

Accommodation Matters is back - and we’re kicking off the new series by looking at the intersection between student accommodation and the hospitality sector.

In conversation with Luke Brooker, Head of Delivery at Unite Students. He spoke to us about his role, mental health, wellbeing initiatives onsite and overcoming practical challenges to deliver these.

On World Mental Health Day, Caleb spoke to us about his role as a Wellbeing Champion at Unite Students and why it is important for the business to offer support to employees.

Student mental health support is a shared challenge across the Higher Education sector, and a holistic, collaborative approach is fundamental to addressing it. Unite Students’ new student support framework, ‘Support to Stay’, aims to join up our student support services with those of our university partners.

Unite Students, the UK's leading owner, manager and developer of student accommodation, has acquired 180 Stratford, a 178-unit purpose-built build-to-rent ('BTR') property in Stratford, East London for £71m.

In conversation with Unite Students' senior project manager, Lawrence Rojas. He spoke to us about his role and latest project - Campbell House – a new 431-bed property in Bristol city centre, situated on the site of a former Georgian Hospital. 

In conversation with Unite Students' project manager Adrian Muir. He spoke to us about his role and latest completed project - our new flagship property, Hayloft Point, Aldgate, London

Victoria Tolmie-Loverseed, Assistant Chief Executive - Standards at student housing charity Unipol, shares her insights on the changing accommodation landscape, what universities and accommodation providers need to know – and do – to make sure students have the best possible experience, and the challenges of overseeing codes and standards across the student accommodation sector.

Unite Students has reached practical completion on Campbell House, its latest development in Bristol. Situated in the heart of the city, on the site of a former Georgian hospital, Unite Students latest development is named after one of the Bristol’s first Black ward sisters, Princess Campbell. The property spans six storeys and will provide beds for 431 students. It covers 109,000 sq ft, with investment totalling £45million.

Unite Students has reached practical completion on its new flagship development in London. Hayloft Point, located in the heart of central London in Aldgate, spans 24-storeys and will provide beds for 920 students. It covers 29,000 sq metres in total and had development costs of £190m.

In her 18 years in the Higher Education sector, Jo Blair has worked her way up to become one of Scotland’s foremost purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) experts. As she moves into a new role as Head of Quality and Standards at Unite Students, we caught up with her about her new role, her experiences working with the Scottish government, and what the future holds for the Scottish PBSA market.

The July meeting of the Unite Students Commission on Living Black at University explored how knowledge and data could be better harnessed to meet the needs of Black students and staff.

Five top tips on how to best prepare for starting at university, including how to deal with the rise in cost of living, go-to recipes for healthy eating and finding out about the city students are about to live in

Our latest episode of Accommodation Matters explores the findings of our recent applicant survey in more detail, including what this means on the ground, what the sector is doing to prepare for their arrival, and some areas of focus for the future.

Unite Students is giving its employees a £500 one-off payment to help with the rising cost of living.

The UK’s postgraduate population exploded during the pandemic – but who are they, and what are some of the policy pressures around this demographic? This blog has been kindly contributed by Dr Diana Beech, Chief Executive Officer of London Higher – the representative body for over 40 universities and higher education colleges in London.

We have seen continued momentum in the first half, as earnings and dividends have grown strongly and reservations for the 2022/23 academic year are now ahead of pre-pandemic levels.

Who are 2022’s applicants, and what do they need at university? With a view to starting to answer to these questions, Unite Students is delighted to share our inaugural Applicant Index report, available for download now.

The latest episode of our In Conversation mini-series stars Dr Alexis Brown, Director of Policy and Advocacy at the Higher Education Policy Institute. She shares her thoughts on what the Higher Education sector's current challenges are, part-time and lifelong learning opportunities, and student wellbeing, as well as her own experiences of studying in the US and the UK.

The Unite Students Commission on Living Black at University launched in April to effect sector-wide change in improving Black students’ accommodation experience. Representing sector bodies, charities and universities who are already running projects to improve the Black student experience, here are the Commissioners making this work happen.

This is the story of our role in making the Unite Foundation’s amazing work possible.

Unite Students, the UK’s largest operator of student accommodation, has had its equality, diversity and inclusion practices recognised by Manchester Pride.

Who are the UK's postgraduates? What do they want from their accommodation? And what are the challenges they face in accessing it? We delve into the topic of postgraduate accommodation with help from expert sector guests.

On the 50th anniversary of the UK’s first official pride march, we’ve caught up with two of our LGBTQ+ employees to understand what working at Unite Students in 2022 means for them.

In January, Becca Hayhurst joined the organisation as our new Head of Student Support. We caught up with Becca to find out how she’s finding her role, what she’s been up to since joining, and details of our new student support strategy.

The Unite Students Commission on Living Black at University recently held its first in-person meeting in Birmingham, on the topic of integration – here are some of the key themes that emerged from the meeting.

Data shows that students’ expectations for university life don’t meet with their experience. So what can the Higher Education sector do to bridge the gap and better reflect the reality of student living to prospective applicants?

Jenny Shaw speaks to Hillary Gyebi-Ababio, outgoing Vice President for Higher Education at the National Union of Students (NUS), about students, community and her time at NUS.

This summer, Unite Students is launching ‘In Conversation’: a podcast mini-series, showcasing in-depth discussions with 3 Higher Education sector experts about their experiences, sector insights, and what they anticipate for the future. Jenny Shaw, Higher Education External Engagement Director and series host, shares more.

In June, we welcomed nine interns to Unite Students as part of our partnership with 10,000 Black Interns.

Unite Students has partnered with UCAS to deliver key skills in making the ‘leap’ to university to more prospective students.

A sense of belonging is essential to a positive working and living experience, underpinned by factors including equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) and wellbeing. As such, Unite Students is shifting away from the phrase ‘EDI’ and towards new language which more precisely captures the holistic nature of inclusion.

Jenny Shaw, Higher Education External Engagement Director, attended the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI)’s annual conference on 9th June – here are her key takeaways for the student accommodation sector.

Unite Students has committed to donating 1% of annual profits to social initiatives going forward, amounting to a commitment of c.£2million a year.

What does student accommodation look like in different markets, and how does the UK’s provision differ from the US and Australia? Learn more from the lively, informative discussion in this month’s episode of Accommodation Matters.

Following on from our recent cost of living research, Vivi Friedgut – Founder and CEO of Blackbullion – explores an unexpected finding from their Student Money & Wellbeing report, published this year.

Unite Students, the UK’s largest provider of student accommodation, has been named Student Accommodation Operator of the Year at leading property sector awards, RESI. It was singled out for the way it supported students in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Its student rent support provided since the outbreak of the pandemic totalled in excess of £100 million.

Family estrangement is sadly all too common for LGBTQ+ students. For Mental Health Awareness Week 2022, Fiona Ellison - Director of the Unite Foundation - shares what the Foundation is doing to support estranged and care experienced LGBTQ+ students, and what Higher Education institutions can do to support their mental health and wellbeing.

We take a deep-dive into current student mental health trends, the latest thinking in the student support sector, and what this means for the future of student mental health.