Unite acquires new development site in Nottingham

RNS Number : 6227I

Unite Group PLC

12 August 2019

 

PRESS RELEASE

12 August 2019                                

THE UNITE GROUP PLC

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

UNITE ACQUIRES NEW DEVELOPMENT SITE IN NOTTINGHAM

The Unite Group plc, one of the UK's leading owners, managers and developers of student accommodation, announces that it has exchanged contracts to acquire a new 620-bed development site in Nottingham.

The direct let development, which is subject to planning consent, will open in time for the 2022/23 academic year. Total development costs are estimated to be £48 million, delivering a development yield in line with the Company's stated targets.

Nottingham is home to two leading Universities and the development will increase Unite's presence in the city, enabling it to deliver operational efficiencies. The new site will form part of the Company's ongoing target of maintaining a development pipeline of c.2,000 beds a year and will be funded from internally generated sources.

Nick Hayes, Unite's Group Property Director, commented:

"This latest acquisition reflects our strategy of aligning our business with mid and high tariff Universities in cities where there is strong demand for affordable, high-quality student accommodation."

ENDS

For further information, please contact:

Unite Students

Richard Smith / Joe Lister / Paul Richmond                                          Tel: [phone]

Powerscourt

Victoria Heslop / Ben Harries                                                                   Tel: [phone]

About Unite Students

Unite Students is one of the UK's largest owners, managers and developers of purpose-built student accommodation serving the country's world-leading higher education sector. We currently provide homes for almost 50,000 students in circa 130 properties across 22 leading university towns and cities in England and Scotland. Unite also has a strong development pipeline, which will deliver more than 6,000 beds in the next three years. 

Our 1,400 people are driven by a common purpose: to provide the students who live with us a 'Home for Success' and to be the most trusted brand in the sector.  We do this through quality service, quality people and quality properties, all designed on the basis of an excellent insight into students' needs and preferences.

Unite's accommodation is high quality, safe and secure, and located where students want to live. Students live predominantly in en-suite study bedrooms with rents covering all bills, insurance, 24-hour security, fortnightly cleaning services and high-speed Wi-Fi. MyUnite, our mobile app, provides practical support such as instant messaging and maintenance requests.

Our commitment to customer service is powered by an innovative, in-house operating platform. It provides a wide range of benefits to our students, such as an optimised online booking process, as well as providing us with a unique ability to drive value from our portfolio through scale efficiencies and revenue management.

Alongside delivering quality service, our other strategic priority is delivering growing and sustainable earnings, underpinned by a strong capital structure.  A key part of this strategy is growing the number of beds let though partnerships with mid and high tariff universities which are experiencing record levels of student demand.  We currently partner with 60 higher education institutions, guaranteeing that approximately 60% of our rooms are let under multi-year, 'nomination agreements' providing high visibility of forward occupancy and rental growth.

Unite is invested in and operates two specialist funds and joint ventures with institutional investment partners: the £2 billion Unite UK Student Accommodation Fund (USAF), and the £1 billion London Student Accommodation Vehicle (LSAV).

Unite is the founder of and major donor to the Unite Foundation, a charitable trust established to support talented students facing challenging financial circumstances through the provision of free accommodation annual scholarships. The Foundation has so far provided scholarships for 250 young people working in close collaboration with 29 partner universities.

Founded in 1991 in Bristol, Unite Group is an award-winning Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), listed on the London Stock Exchange and a member of the FTSE 250 Index.

For more information, please visit Unite's corporate website www.unite-group.co.uk, the student site www.unite-students.com or the Unite Foundation www.unitefoundation.co.uk

 

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