Unite Regulatory News (UTG)

THE UNITE GROUP PLC

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

QUARTERLY VALUATION UPDATE FOR THE UNITE UK STUDENT ACCOMMODATION FUND AND THE LONDON STUDENT ACCOMMODATION JOINT VENTURE

The Unite Group plc, one of the UK's leading owners, managers and developers of student accommodation, announces the quarterly property valuation of the Unite UK Student Accommodation Fund ('USAF') and the London Student Accommodation Joint Venture ('LSAV') as at 30 September 2019.

At 30 September 2019, USAF's property portfolio was independently valued at £2,445 million, representing a like-for-like increase of 0.6% during the quarter. The portfolio comprises 25,177 beds in 68 properties across 21 University towns and cities in the UK.

LSAV's investment portfolio was independently valued at £1,300 million, up 1.9% in the quarter on a like-for-like basis. LSAV's investment portfolio comprises 8,354 beds across 12 properties in London and Aston Student Village in Birmingham.

The valuation increase is predominantly driven by rental growth with LSAV also benefiting from a one-time reversionary uplift at one of its larger properties. Overall the USAF portfolio is valued at an average yield of 5.2% whilst the LSAV portfolio is valued at an average yield of 4.5%.

As we enter the final stages of the lettings cycle for the 2019/20 academic year, Unite Students has achieved a strong lettings performance across its whole portfolio with 98% of bed spaces let (2018/19: 98%). This supports annual rental growth of 3.0-3.5%, through a combination of value-driven price increases and improved utilisation.

Joe Lister, Unite Students Chief Financial Officer, commented:

"We have delivered another strong reservations performance for 2019/20 across our whole portfolio, demonstrating the continued demand for our rooms and services. The performance is driven by our focus on long-term partnerships with high-quality universities and our investment in university towns and cities where demand for purpose-built student accommodation is strong."

ENDS

For further information, please contact:

Unite Students

Joe Lister / Paul Richmond Tel: +44 117 302 7005

Powerscourt

Justin Griffiths / Victoria Heslop Tel: +44 20 7250 1446

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 over 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 around 5,000 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 through 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 '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