Unite Group plc (LON:UTG), the UK’s leading owner, manager and developer of student accommodation, hsd announced the sale of its 444-bed King’s Place development site to an affiliate of Far East Orchard for £60 million.
The disposal is part of the Group’s strategy to realise value from development land and other non-student assets. The sale is priced at a 3% discount to its June 2026 book value and is expected to complete in mid-October.
The Group has now agreed or completed disposals in 2026 totalling £200 million at a weighted average NOI yield of 3.0% (Unite share), including a number of non-income producing sites.
The Group has a number of further disposal processes underway to support our strategy of increasing alignment to the UK’s strongest universities. As a result, we remain on track to deliver £300-400 million (Unite share) of disposals in 2026.
The disposal was incorporated into the Group’s adjusted earnings guidance of 41.5-43.0p for FY2026, which remains unchanged.
Joe Lister, Unite Group Chief Executive Officer, commented:
“The sale of King’s Place is evidence of our capital discipline and proactive capital recycling programme. It successfully realises value from a development project which no longer meets our return requirements and reflects our focus on delivering the best outcomes for shareholders. We are moving at pace to further increase our alignment to the strongest universities and remain on track to deliver £300-400 million of disposals this year.”
