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Unite Group PLC on Wednesday backed full year guidance despite beds sold falling short of expectations and a drop in rental growth. The Bristol, England-based student accommodation provider said beds sold for the 2025 to 2026 academic year fell to 95.2% from 97.5% the year prior, below its expectations. Rental growth from the sales to date amounted to 4.0%, down from 8.2% a year ago. Nonetheless, the company reiterated financial 2025 guidance for adjusted earnings per share of 47.5 pence to 48.25p, compared to 46.6p in 2024. In response, shares in Unite were down 5.9% at 665.00 pence each in London on Wednesday morning. ‘We have sold 95% of beds and delivered rental growth of 4.0%. While this is slightly below our target, we saw a strong clearing period which has contributed to our outperformance of the wider [purpose-built student accommodation] sector,’ said Joe Lister, Unite Students chief executive officer. Looking ahead, Lister said the outlook remains robust, underpinned by growing demand from school leavers and stabilising international admissions. ‘Our income is also underpinned by nomination agreements with long-term university partners, which now cover 59% of our beds,’ Lister pointed out. He explained Unite’s portfolio is ‘increasingly aligned to high-tariff institutions, which continue to attract a growing share of student demand.’ Unite said high tariff universities saw acceptances up 8% year-on-year, which compares to growth of 2% and a drop of 2% for medium and low tariff universities respectively. Unite said at September 30, the Unite UK Student Accommodation Fund’s property portfolio was independently valued at £2.85 billion, unchanged on a like-for-like basis during the quarter and a 1.4% increase for the year to date. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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