Unite Group plc (LON:UTG), Unite Students, the UK’s leading owner, manager and developer of student accommodation, has announced that it has agreed the sale of St Pancras Way, a 571-bed property in London, to the Unite UK Student Accommodation Fund (USAF) for £186 million (Unite share: £126 million).
St Pancras Way was developed by Unite in 2014 and is fully nominated to University College London for the 2026/27 academic year. A light refurbishment of the common areas will complete later this year.
The £186 million disposal, which is subject to technical due diligence, represents a c.1% discount to December 2025 book value and reflects a Net Operating Income yield of 4.7%.
The transaction will be funded by existing cash headroom in USAF and the issue of new USAF units, to be fully underwritten by Unite. Subject to existing USAF investors choosing to exercise their pre-emption rights, the USAF equity issue will increase Unite’s ownership in USAF from 30% to a maximum of 32% and Unite expects to receive minimum net proceeds of £115m in cash. Unite intends to maintain its ownership in USAF at around 30% over the medium-term.
The transaction is anticipated to close in April following completion of the USAF equity raise. The disposal is incorporated into the Group’s earnings guidance for the 2026 financial year.
Joe Lister, Chief Executive of Unite Students, commented:
“The disposal of St Pancras Way is part of the Group’s strategy to accelerate disposals to £300-400 million p.a.. The sale to USAF means we remain invested in a high-quality London asset, while enhancing management fee income and releasing capital for reinvestment into higher-returning opportunities in accordance with our capital allocation priorities.”
