Unite Students

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The Unite Group plc
Company type Public
Industry Student accommodation
Founded 1991
Founder Nicholas Porter
Headquarters Bristol , England, UK
Key people
Phil White CBE , ( Chairman )
Richard Smith ( CEO )
Joe Lister ( CFO )
Products Student accommodation ( halls of residence )
Services Property investment and development
Revenue Increase ￡ 276.1 million (2023) [1]
Increase ￡ 154.7 million (2023) [1]
Decrease ￡ 103.6 million (2023) [1]
Number of employees
2,000 (2024) [2]
Website www .unite-group .co .uk

The Unite Group (trading as Unite Students ) provides purpose built student accommodation (PBSA) across the United Kingdom.

The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange as a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index .

History [ edit ]

A Unite Students facility near Tottenham Hale station

The Unite Group was founded by Nicholas Porter in Bristol , England, in 1991. [3] Aged 21 and following research with the University of the West of England , he recognised a growing demand for student accommodation. [4] After a period of expansion within Bristol, in 1998 Unite opened its first properties in London. It listed on the Alternative Investment Market the following year. [5]

In 2000 the business moved its share register to the London Stock Exchange, and opened properties in Manchester, Liverpool and Portsmouth. [6] During the following decade, Unite created investment vehicles to secure growth in London, across England and into Scotland. Of these vehicles, The Unite UK Student Accommodation Fund (USAF [7] ) is Europe's largest fund focusing solely on direct-let student accommodation. [8] In 2006, Porter announced he was stepping down as chief executive. He was succeeded at the end of the year by chief financial officer Mark Allan. [9]

Former National Express chief executive Phil White became non-executive chairman in May 2009, succeeding Geoffrey Maddrell, after ten years in the role. [10] By 2011 the business had grown to 40,000 beds. It remains the UK's largest provider of student accommodation by capacity, [11] but second to IQ Student Accommodation by value of its portfolio of property. [12]

In 2012 it founded charitable trust The Unite Foundation , which provides free accommodation and a cost-of-living allowance to students from "challenging circumstances". [13] In April 2014 Unite renamed itself "Unite Students". Simultaneously, it launched its "Home for Success" corporate philosophy; which it describes as its "business purpose". The Home for Success announcement included a ￡40m reinvestment of profits into the business and 16 "signature commitments", all of which relate to an improved student experience. [14]

Unite Group converted to a real estate investment trust with effect from 1 January 2017. [15]

In November 2019, the Competition and Markets Authority approved the proposed acquisition by the company of its competitor, Liberty Living, for ￡1.4 billion. [16] The transaction was completed in December 2019. [17]

On 1 June 2022, it was announced that it will be promoted from the FTSE 250, and became a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index effective on 20 June. [18]

Operations [ edit ]

The company provides residential accommodation to around 74,000 students across 123 buildings across the UK, [19] and is the largest and oldest PBSA provider in the country. [20]

Notable properties [ edit ]

References [ edit ]

  1. ^ a b c "Annual Results 2023" (PDF) . Unite Students . Retrieved 28 February 2024 .
  2. ^ "Unite Students" . Bright Network . Retrieved 12 February 2024 .
  3. ^ "Bristol Post Business Awards: Unite Students take top award" . South West Business. 6 July 2016 . Retrieved 28 April 2017 .
  4. ^ "Nicholas Porter ? The Sunday Times" . thesundaytimes.co.uk . Archived from the original on 22 December 2014 . Retrieved 3 April 2015 .
  5. ^ "DTZ loses Bristol director to student housing specialist" . Radius Data Exchange. 9 June 1999 . Retrieved 3 March 2021 .
  6. ^ "Our story so far" . Unite Students . Retrieved 3 April 2015 .
  7. ^ "UNITE UK Student Accommodation Fund" . aref.org.uk . Retrieved 29 March 2020 .
  8. ^ "Bedell" . bedellgroup.com . Retrieved 3 April 2015 .
  9. ^ "Student digs chief steps down with honours" . Property Week . Retrieved 3 April 2015 .
  10. ^ "Unite Group taps Phil White as new chairman" . propertyeu.info . Retrieved 3 April 2015 .
  11. ^ "Unite Students set for 399-bed Aberdeen development" . Property Week . Retrieved 3 April 2015 .
  12. ^ Curry, Rhiannon (18 February 2018). "RBS director to chair UK's largest student digs company" . The Daily Telegraph . London . Retrieved 10 September 2018 .
  13. ^ "About Us" . unitefoundation.co.uk . Retrieved 3 April 2015 .
  14. ^ "Home for Success" . unite-group.co.uk . Retrieved 3 April 2015 .
  15. ^ "Notice of General Meeting for REIT Conversion and Trading Update" . unite-group.co.uk . Retrieved 6 November 2017 .
  16. ^ Clark, Jessica (6 November 2019). "Competition and Markets Authority approves ￡1.4bn Unite Students acquisition of Liberty Living" . City A.M . Retrieved 15 April 2020 .
  17. ^ Beech, Adam (29 November 2019). "Unite Group Completes Liberty Living Acquisition" . Insider Media . Retrieved 15 April 2020 .
  18. ^ Wearden, Graeme (2 June 2022). "ITV and Royal Mail to drop out of FTSE 100 in reshuffle" . The Guardian . Retrieved 2 June 2022 .
  19. ^ "Higher Education" . Unite Students. 7 July 2021.
  20. ^ "Unite snaps up Cordea Savills' ￡137m student housing portfolio" . Financial Times . London . Retrieved 3 April 2015 .
  21. ^ "Grand Central" . Emporis. Archived from the original on 3 June 2007 . Retrieved 29 March 2010 .
  22. ^ a b "Worlds Tallest Student Block Completes in Leeds" . Skyscraper News. 26 June 2009 . Retrieved 17 March 2012 .

External links [ edit ]

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