Unite Group (LON:UTG), the UK’s leading owner, manager and developer of student accommodation, has provided 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.
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.
