Unite completes purchase of student accommodation providers Empiric

(Alliance News) - Unite Group PLC on Wednesday said it has completed the acquisition of Empiric Student Property PLC.

Both firms are UK-based student accommodation providers.

Back in June, Unite said it had approached Empiric regarding a possible takeover before agreeing terms in August.

For each share held, Empiric stockholders will receive 0.085 of a new Unite share, plus 32 pence in cash, including dividends.

At the time, with the Unite share price at 732 pence per share, the bid valued each Empiric share at 94.2p or GBP634 million.

The offer price reflected a 22% discount to Empiric's June 30 EPRA net tangible asset per share of 120.2p.

Shares in Unite were up 1.0% at 571.50 pence each in London on Wednesday morning, implying a lower deal value of around 80.6p per share.

Trading in Empiric Student Property shares was suspended at 80p a share on Wednesday, pending cancellation which is expected on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Unite said it remains confident in delivering annual run-rate synergies of at least GBP13.7 million underpinned by its prior experience through the acquisition of Liberty Living in 2019, when the firm delivered GBP18 million of annual synergies.

Unite said Empiric has delivered occupancy of 89% for the 2025 to 2026 academic year.

"Our appraisal of the acquisition of Empiric had assumed lower occupancy and rental growth for 2025/26 than expected by Empiric which was reflected in our offer terms. Empiric's overall lettings performance is modestly below these expectations, resulting in lower than expected income in the first half of FY2026," Unite said.

By Jeremy Cutler, Alliance News reporter

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