Unite Regulatory News (UTG)

23 July 2018

THE UNITE GROUP PLC

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

UNITE APPOINTS ILARIA DEL BEATO AND RICHARD AKERS AS NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS

The Unite Group plc, the UK's leading manager and developer of student accommodation, today announces the appointment of two Non-Executive Directors, Ilaria del Beato and Richard Akers. Richard will join the Board on 1 September 2018 and Ilaria on 1 December 2018.

Ilaria is currently CEO of Frasers Property UK, part of Frasers Property, a global real estate group. She was formerly CEO of GE Capital UK, a regulated Bank and corporate lender and led GE Capital Real Estate UK, a commercial real estate investor, developer and lender. Ilaria brings 30 years of experience in real estate, including asset management, investment and lending.

From 1995 to 2014 Richard worked at Land Securities plc, where he had various positions including as an Executive Director on the main board and Managing Director of Retail. Richard has over 30 years' experience in the real estate industry, with a focus on retail. He is currently Senior Independent Director and Chair of the Health & Safety and Remuneration Committees at Barratt Developments Plc, a Non-Executive Director at Shaftesbury Plc and an Advisory Board Member at Battersea Power Station Development Company. Previously Richard was a Non-Executive Director at Emaar Malls PJSC.

Phil White, Chairman of Unite, commented:

"This is an exciting time for our business and I'm delighted to welcome both Ilaria and Richard to the Board as Non-Executive Directors. Their appointment reflects our ongoing commitment to utilising expertise from the best in the industry. Both bring with them a wealth of real estate experience and broader knowledge. I look forward to working with them as we take Unite forward into the next stage in its development"

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Notes to editors:

About Unite Students

Unite Students is the UK's largest manager and developer of purpose-built student accommodation serving the country's world-leading higher education sector. We currently provide homes for almost 50,000 students in more than 140 properties across 24 leading university towns and cities in England and Scotland. Unite also has a strong development pipeline, which will deliver a further 8,000 beds in the next three years. 

Our 1,450 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 great service, great people and great properties, all designed on the basis of an unrivalled insight into students' needs and preferences.

Unite's accommodation is high quality, safe and secure, and located close to university campuses, transport links and local amenities. 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 great 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 28 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.