- Firm confident of rental growth of at least 5% over 2024/25 academic year
Unite Group said it has experienced a strong start to 2024 year with continued demand for student beds.
The UK-based owner, manager and developer of student accommodation said it had already sold a record 71 per cent of its beds for the 2024/25 academic year, up slightly from 70 per cent the previous year.
The London-listed firm also said it was confident in delivering rental growth of at least 5 per cent in the 2024/25 period.
The London-listed firm said it was confident in delivering rental growth of at least 5 per cent in the 2024/25 academic year
Unite owns and operates 70,000 student beds in towns and cities across the UK.
Joe Lister, chief executive officer of Unite Students, said: ‘We have seen a strong start to the 2024/25 sales cycle, reflecting the continued appeal of our fixed-priced, all-inclusive offer.
‘The letting performance highlights the ongoing strength of demand from students and universities and underpins a positive outlook for rental growth for the 2024/25 academic year.’
In a statement, the group said: ‘We have been encouraged by particularly strong demand from university partners with 4,000 extra beds reserved compared to the same stage of the 2023/24 sales cycle.
‘We are mindful of cost of living pressures for students and parents and remain focussed on offering value-for-money accommodation, while also delivering sustainable rental growth to mitigate margin pressure from rising staff and utility costs and to support significant ongoing investment into our properties.’
The group also revealed it was moving forward with four development schemes in London, Bristol, Edinburgh and Nottingham, totalling 2,000 beds, for delivery between 2024 and 2026.
It has benefited from a trend towards private landlords offloading their properties due to higher mortgage costs.
Lister added: ‘We will continue to play a leading role in increasing the supply of much needed student accommodation at a time when HMO landlords are leaving the market at pace and the new supply of purpose-built student accommodation slows.
‘We are committed to working closely with our university partners to ensure students have access to high quality, affordable accommodation.’
Unite Group shares were down 0.67 per cent to 1,039p in late afternoon trading on Tuesday.
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