REG - Unite Group PLC - AGM Statement

UniteAnnouncement

Today 07:01

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
https://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20260515:nRSO4103Ea&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 4103E  Unite Group PLC (The)  15 May 2026

PRESS RELEASE

15 May 2026

THE UNITE GROUP PLC

('Unite Group, 'Unite', the 'Group', or the 'Company')

AGM STATEMENT

2026/27 RESERVATIONS ON TRACK AND GUIDANCE CONFIRMED

 

Unite Group, the UK's leading owner, manager and developer of student
accommodation, is pleased to provide an update on current trading ahead of the
Company's Annual General Meeting (AGM) to be held at 9.30am today at The
Welcome Building, 1st Floor, Avon St, Bristol BS2 0PS.

 

Joe Lister, Unite Group Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"Our strategy is focused on increasing our alignment to the UK's leading
universities where we see the strongest prospects for housing demand and
future rental growth. We are increasing our disposal plans and working with
advisors to explore options to further accelerate our transition to a more
focused, higher-quality portfolio. This will release surplus capital for
reinvestment into share buybacks or University Partnerships consistent with
our capital allocation framework.

 

We are being proactive in driving income through both our partnerships with
universities and direct-let sales channels. Reservations remain in line with
our expectations for the 2026/27 academic year, as set out at our Preliminary
results."

 

Current trading

2026/27 lettings performance

Across the Unite Students' portfolio, 79% of beds are now reserved for the
2026/27 academic year (2025/26: 80%). This includes 54% of beds let to
universities under nomination agreements and 25% of beds let through
direct-let sales (2025/26: 58% and 22% respectively). We will be working
closely with universities to confirm their nomination requirements through May
and June as undergraduate students confirm their preferred university choices
for 2026/27. Direct-let sales are ahead of last year with the increased
booking pace reflecting targeted pricing initiatives in some markets to drive
overall income.

 

Our sales progress for the 2026/27 academic year remains in line with the
guidance provided at our Preliminary results for an outturn at the lower end
of 93-96% occupancy and 2-3% rental growth (2025/26: 95.2% and 4.0%). This
translates to like-for-like income growth of 0-2%.

 

Empiric (Hello Student) update

Bookings for the Hello Student portfolio continue to progress in line with the
expectations set out at our Preliminary results. 47% of rooms are now reserved
for the 2026/27 academic year (2025/26: 55%), reflecting our initial
interventions to Empiric's sales platform which have driven an accelerated
bookings pace in recent weeks. We continue to expect Hello Student to achieve
occupancy of around 85% for the 2026/27 academic year, in line with Unite
Students' direct-let sales.

 

Earnings guidance

Sales and trading performance through the first four months of the year have
been in-line with our expectations and supports our guidance for adjusted EPS
of 41.5-43.0p in FY2026.

 

 

ENDS

 

 

For further information, please contact:

 

Unite Group

Joe Lister / Mike Burt / Saxon Ridley
                      Tel: +44 117 302 7005

Press office
                                              Tel: +44
117 450 6300

 

Sodali & Co

Ben Foster / Peter Lambie / Sam Austrums
                Tel: +44 20 7250 1446

 

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. We provide homes to 72,000 students across 208 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 (http://www.unitegroup.com) ,
www.unitestudents.com (http://www.unitestudents.com) or www.hellostudent.co.uk
(http://www.hellostudent.co.uk) .

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  AGMGPUCUAUPQGAC



            Copyright 2019 Regulatory News Service, all rights reserved