Unite Regulatory News (UTG)

THE UNITE GROUP PLC (the "Company")

18 April 2019

SCRIP REFERENCE SHARE PRICE - 2018 FINAL DIVIDEND

On 27 February 2019 the Company announced its 31 December 2018 year end results and that it would be paying a 2018 final dividend of 19.5 pence, 16.0 pence of which is a Property Income Distribution (PID).

The Unite Scrip Dividend Scheme is being offered to shareholders in respect of this PID, with a Scrip Reference Share Price of 928.30 pence. This Scrip Reference Share Price is calculated by taking the average of the closing middle market quotation for shares in the Company, derived from the London Stock Exchange Daily Official List, for the five consecutive dealing days from 11 April 2019 to 17 April 2019 (inclusive).

The deadline for application for the Scrip Scheme in respect of this dividend is 5 pm (London time) on 25 April 2019. The Scrip Circular and terms and conditions are available on the Company's website at http://www.unite-group.co.uk/investors.

-ENDS-

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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 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 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 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 209 young people working in close collaboration with 27 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.unitestudents.com or the Unite Foundation www.unitefoundation.co.uk.