PRESS RELEASE

24 February 2026

THE UNITE GROUP PLC

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

RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025

RESPONDING TO CHANGE AND DELIVERING OUR PLAN

Joe Lister, Chief Executive of Unite Students, commented:

"Unite Students delivered a robust performance in 2025, with strong trading across the majority of our portfolio offset by weaker demand in a small number of cities for the 2025/26 academic year. Growing domestic demand for higher education, improving international mobility and constrained housing supply underpin the long-term prospects for the sector. Students continue to place high value on the residential university experience, supporting sustained demand for the high‑quality accommodation and living experience that we provide.

"We have started to deliver on the strategic plan set out at the end of 2025, focusing on closer alignment to the strongest universities, building on our university partnerships and taking decisive action on costs. We have also demonstrated our disciplined approach to capital, having commenced a £100 million share buyback in January and this morning announcing the sale of St Pancras Way to USAF.

"While there is much to do, we are making early progress and building momentum. Delivering the benefits from our plan, together with the Empiric acquisition, provides a strong platform for 2027 and beyond."

HIGHLIGHTS

Continued rental growth for 2025/26, demonstrating value of our platform

·      4.0% rental growth and 95.2% occupancy for the 2025/26 academic year (2024/25: 8.2% and 97.5%)

·      +2% YoY growth in adjusted EPS to 47.5p (2024: 46.6p)

·      IFRS EPS (diluted) reduced to 19.9p (2024: 96.1p)

·      0.5% LfL valuation decline, reflecting 3.8% rental growth and 11bps yield expansion

·      TAR of 2.1%, reflecting 2% reduction in EPRA NTA to 955p (2024: 9.6% and 972p)

Growing HE demand in a more competitive leasing market

·      5% increase in UK 18-year-old applicants for the 2026/27 academic year

·      Strongest student demand and housing need at the highest-quality universities

·      New PBSA supply 50% below pre-pandemic levels and competing HMO sector in decline

·      68% reserved for 2026/27 (2025/26: 71%), reflecting more cautious booking trends

·      Continued demand from strong university partners, with 55% of beds nominated for 2026/27 (2025/26: 59%)

Increasing alignment to the UK's strongest universities

·      67% aligned to high-tariff universities, growing to 80% through disposals and committed development

·      Enhanced offer to returning students through acquisition of high-quality Empiric portfolio in 2026

·      Over 1,000 new beds delivered in Bristol and Edinburgh for the 2025/26 academic year

·      £27 million NOI upside from off-campus development completions from 2027

Delivering our strategic priorities

·      Newcastle and Manchester Metropolitan JVs to deliver 4,300 new beds between 2028-2030

·      Completed Empiric acquisition in January 2026 and increased cost synergies to £17 million p.a.

Demonstrating our disciplined approach to capital allocation

·      Targeting disposals of £300-400m p.a., £214 million completed in 2025 (Unite share: £142 million)

·      Agreed disposal of St Pancras Way, London to USAF for £186 million (Unite share: £126 million)

·      Initial £100 million share buyback programme underway and delivering attractive returns

2026 Guidance

·      2026/27 income expected at lower end of range for 2-3% rental growth and 93-96% occupancy

·      Empiric's 2025/26 income below expectations ahead of integration to our platform

·      Cost of debt expected to increase to 4.3% in 2026 (2025: 3.9%)

·      2026 adjusted EPS guidance of 41.5-43.0p, reflecting lower Empiric income and occupancy

1.  The financial statements are prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). These financial highlights are based on the European Public Real Estate Association (EPRA) best practice recommendations and these performance measures are published as they are intended to help users in the comparability of these results across other listed real estate companies in Europe. The metrics are also used internally to measure and manage the business and to align to the performance related conditions for Directors' remuneration. See glossary for definitions.

2.  Excludes IFRS 16 related balances recognised in respect of leased properties. Wholly owned balances plus Unite's share of balances relating to USAF, LSAV and University Partnerships. See glossary for definitions.

3.  Adjusted earnings and adjusted EPS remove the impact of SaaS implementation costs from EPRA earnings and EPRA EPS. See glossary for definitions and note 7 for calculations and reconciliations.

4.  See glossary for definitions

PRESENTATION

A live webcast of the presentation including Q&A will be held today at 08:30am GMT for investors and analysts. The webcast can be accessed via https://brrmedia.news/UTG_FY25 and will be available for playback on our website (https://www.unitegroup.com) after the event.

To register for the event or to receive dial-in details, please contact unite@sodali.com.

For further information, please contact:

Unite Students

Joe Lister / Mike Burt / Saxon Ridley                                              Tel: +44 117 302 7005

Press office                                                                                    Tel: +44 117 450 6300

Sodali & Co

Ben Foster / Sam Austrums / Louisa Henry                                      Tel: +44 20 7250 1446

CHIEF EXECUTIVE'S REVIEW

Demand for UK Higher Education sector remains strong, underpinned by demographic growth, high participation rates and the quality and global reputation of the UK's universities. Higher-tariff universities continue to capture an increased share of student numbers, driving increased housing need in the strongest cities and locations. This is coming at the expense of lower-tariff universities where housing demand has also been impacted by growing numbers of students choosing to live at home.

The majority of our portfolio is delivering strong levels of occupancy and rental growth, but we have experienced challenges from weaker demand and higher supply in some cities. We are responding to this change through a renewed focus on operational excellence and optimal capital allocation. During the year, we increased our alignment to high-tariff universities from 64% to 67% and are targeting 80% as we align our portfolio even more closely with the strongest universities.

The acquisition of Empiric's high-quality 7,700-bed portfolio across 66 properties, which is 81% aligned to high-tariff universities, completed towards the end of January 2026 and allows us to better serve the attractive Returner market segment.

Growing earnings and dividend

Lettings performance for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 academic years supported growth in adjusted earnings to £232.3 million and adjusted EPS of 47.5p, up 9% and 2% respectively year-on-year. The growth in adjusted EPS also reflects the increased share count following our capital raise in July 2024. IFRS profit reduced to £97.6 million and diluted EPS to 19.9p (2024: £441.9 million and 96.1p), reflecting a valuation decrease for our property portfolio compared to the prior year. We have proposed a final dividend of 24.9p which, if approved, takes the total dividends to 37.7p for the year, representing a year-on-year increase of 1%.

Total accounting returns for the year were 2.1%, reflecting dividends paid in the year and a 2% reduction in EPRA NTA per share to 955p due to a 0.5% decline in LfL property valuations. Our net debt: EBITDA and LTV ratios increased to 6.0x and 27% respectively, reflecting an increase in net debt during the year.

Our key financial performance indicators are set out below:

1.  See glossary for definitions and note 7 for alternative performance measure calculations and reconciliations. A reconciliation of profit before tax to EPRA earnings and adjusted earnings is set out in note 7 of the financial statements.

Growing higher education demand in a more competitive leasing market

A record number of UK 18-year-olds started university in 2025/26, with 2% growth in the number of new undergraduates. Growth was particularly strong at high-tariff universities where acceptances grew 7%, while medium-tariff providers saw 2% growth and low-tariff experienced a 2% reduction. This growth supported an increase in the proportion of beds let to universities through nomination agreements to 59% (2024/25: 57%) but was offset by weaker sales to international postgraduate students and an increase in students choosing to live at home, which particularly impacted lower-ranked universities.

Overall, our portfolio delivered 95.2% occupancy and rental growth of 4.0% for the 2025/26 academic year (2024/25: 97.5% and 8.2% respectively). The majority of our portfolio performed strongly, with 19 of 22 cities averaging 97% occupancy. Vacancies were concentrated in three regional cities (Leicester, Nottingham and Sheffield), where weaker demand combined with high levels of existing and new supply. We also saw lower occupancy in new buildings or buildings where we delivered large capital projects, which were slower to let in a more competitive leasing environment.

Housing supply remains constrained

New supply of PBSA is down 50% on pre-pandemic levels, with around 17,000 new beds expected in 2026, reflecting viability challenges created by higher costs of construction and funding, as well as the time required to secure planning and Building Safety Regulator (BSR) approvals. Weekly rents now need to be at least £230 for new PBSA development outside of London to be viable, meaning there is little prospect of new PBSA supply in many markets. Build-to-Rent (BTR) is a source of growing competition in larger regional cities, particularly for international students, but new supply of BTR faces many of the same viability issues.

Obsolescence of older university accommodation continues to impact supply, with 5,000-10,000 beds being removed from the market each year due to building age and the need to operate buildings more sustainably.

Over half of students who need term-time accommodation live in HMOs where many private landlords are choosing to leave the sector due to rising mortgage costs and increasing regulation. The Renters' Rights Act introduces new regulations for HMO landlords and rights for tenants from which PBSA is exempt. From May 2026, entering tenancy agreements more than six months before the start date will be banned, disrupting HMO lettings to students early in the 2027/28 sales cycle. The ability for students to exit HMO tenancies with two months' notice will also reduce income security for private landlords. HMO supply has fallen by 9% over the last four years and we expect this trend to continue.

Delivering our strategy

At our investor event in November, we set out how we are responding to changes in our market. Our focus is on delivering operational excellence from our best-in-class platform and ensuring optimal capital allocation to deliver the strongest risk-adjusted returns for shareholders.

We will focus on six priorities to help deliver on these objectives.

Operational excellence

·    High-quality, growing income - We are targeting above 97% occupancy in our core cities and above-inflation rental growth, in line with our long-term performance. This is underpinned by our target to grow university nomination agreements to 60% of beds from 54% (including Empiric) which will be achieved by delivering our university joint ventures, winning share from competitors and exiting assets with lower university demand.

·    Taking action on costs - We are being proactive in right-sizing our cost base to reflect more challenging market conditions and ensure that we deliver efficiencies from our recent investment in new technology platforms.

·   Deliver our business plan for Empiric - There is a significant opportunity to improve occupancy across the Empiric portfolio over the next two years, alongside delivery of our cost synergies, which supports earnings accretion.

Optimal capital allocation

·    Increase alignment to the strongest universities - We expect the UK's strongest universities to outperform and capture a growing share of student numbers in the next 5-10 years. Our committed and future investment activity aims to increase the portfolio's weighting to high-tariff universities, from 67% currently to 80% over the medium term, leading to a more focused, higher-quality portfolio with a presence in 18-20 cities. This realignment is a key enabler of our return to higher occupancy.

·    Grow university partnerships - Our first two university joint ventures, with Newcastle University and Manchester Metropolitan University, are now formed and will see us deliver 4,300 new beds on-campus at affordable rents over the next five years. Building on the strength of our university relationships, we aim to secure one new university partnership per year from our pipeline of active opportunities, including new development and stock transfer.

·    Deploy capital at the best risk-adjusted returns - An increased rate of disposals and lower development capex will see the Group move from net investor to net seller, generating £100-200 million p.a. of surplus capital. We will allocate capital to the opportunities offering the strongest risk-adjusted returns, which are currently expected to be new university partnerships and share buybacks, while maintaining the strength of our balance sheet.

Progress since our investor event

We have made good early progress in delivering against our priorities since our investor event in November. Before the year end, we implemented a c.20% reduction in our central staff costs and have increased our annual cost synergy target for Empiric to £17 million.

Since December, we have formed two university joint ventures with Newcastle University and Manchester Metropolitan University, which will see us deliver 4,300 new beds on-campus between 2028 and 2030.

In January 2026, we launched a £100 million share buyback programme to return surplus capital to shareholders. This was funded through reduced off-campus development activity, having chosen to defer delivery of our Freestone Island project in Bristol and exit our TP Paddington development in London.

The acquisition of Empiric's high-quality 7,700-bed portfolio completed towards the end of January 2026. The portfolio is 81% aligned to high-tariff universities, overlapping with our portfolio in 15 cities, and broadens our product offer for returning students.

We are also today announcing the disposal of St Pancras Way in London to USAF for £186 million (Unite share: £126 million), which forms part of the Group's target to accelerate disposals to £300-400 million p.a. (Unite share).

Acquisition of Empiric Student Property

The acquisition of Empiric, which completed in January 2026, brings a high-quality 7,700-bed PBSA portfolio and enables us to better meet the needs of the attractive Returner student segment. The acquisition delivers a significant increase in Unite's addressable market, enabling the Group to attract and retain more students throughout their academic journey, including the c.35,000 first-year students currently living with Unite. Returning students want a more independent experience, living in smaller groups and with a less institutional feel, which Empiric's portfolio offers through the Hello Student brand.

For the 2025/26 academic year, sales performance has been weaker than expected, with occupancy at 89% and rental growth of 4.5%. We are now just over three weeks post-completion and our priority is enhancing Empiric's commercial performance, with our central commercial team and local teams engaged with Empiric to support sales. We are moving at pace to open our sales channels to Empiric properties, including our significantly larger international agent network and China sales office, in advance of full integration later this year which will benefit the 2027/28 sales cycle. We continue to see significant potential in the business, which we are well placed to unlock through our long-standing university relationships and best-in-class operating platform.

We are also confident in our ability to deliver cost synergies from the acquisition and have validated many of our pre-acquisition assumptions, which support an increase to our annual synergy target to £17 million from 2027.

More supportive government policy for Higher Education

Higher Education (HE) contributes over £250 billion to the UK economy, creates new opportunities and life experiences for young people, and provides global influence through the soft power of education. The HE sector also plays a key part in increasing skill levels in support of the Government's mission to kickstart economic growth.

The Government has increased UK tuition fees for the 2025/26 academic year by 3.1% and confirmed it intends to increase tuition fees for each of the next two academic years by around 2.75%. Government policy is increasingly supportive of international students, the International Education Strategy published in January 2026 details ambitious plans to increase the UK HE sector's international standing, grow international recruitment and increase the value of education exports by 20% over the next five years. The UK's recent return to the Erasmus+ programme will also strengthen ties with the European Union. We expect these measures to improve the global competitiveness of UK universities at a time when a number of competing global destinations are increasing restrictions on international student numbers.

Universities are long-standing and adaptable institutions, and many are making changes to their cost bases to improve their financial sustainability. We expect these financial conditions to create new partnership opportunities with universities as they seek to deliver cost efficiencies and release funding for reinvestment into their academic programmes.

Current trading

Student numbers

UCAS undergraduate data for the 2026/27 academic year shows 5% growth in UK 18-year-old applicants, our key customer demographic. Student demand remains strongest for the high-tariff universities to which we have aligned our portfolio, where applicants are up by 6%. International undergraduate applicants are 5% up for 2026/27, with 10% growth from China. As expected, there has been a further modest increase in students intending to live at home, increasing 1ppt to 28% of applications from UK school leavers. Given growth in overall applications, we expect c.3% growth in the undergraduate intake living away from home this September.

International postgraduate demand has reduced in the past two years following changes in visa policies and increased competition from alternative study destinations, despite the strength of the UK's HE offering. We expect universities to respond by increasing recruitment of international undergraduates to mitigate reduced postgraduate demand.

Letting progress

Across the Group's portfolio (excluding Empiric), 68% of rooms are now sold for the 2026/27 academic year (2025/26: 71%). We expect the booking trends experienced in the 2025/26 sales cycle to continue for 2026/27, with more students choosing to book later and accommodation demand increasingly concentrated at the strongest universities. Nomination agreements account for 55% of beds for 2026/27 (2025/26: 59%), with some, predominantly low-tariff universities choosing not to renew or holding off committing to new agreements as they look to balance security of accommodation for their students with their financial commitment to beds early in the cycle. Engagement with university partners has been positive in recent weeks, reflecting strong undergraduate applications, and we typically secure further nomination agreements through the remainder of the sales cycle.

Encouragingly, direct-let sales in recent weeks have been ahead of last year, with pricing adjustments helping to stimulate sales in those markets with lower occupancy in 2025/26. In keeping with last year, we are seeing students delay their purchasing decisions, following discounting and increased use of incentives by our competitors late in the past two sales cycles.

Like-for-like rental growth on rooms sold to date is 2.4%, with growth through nomination agreements offsetting the impact of modest price reductions on direct-let sales.

2026/27 income guidance

Based on our current rate of sale and future nominations pipeline, we expect to deliver occupancy and rental growth towards the lower end of our guidance ranges of 93-96% and 2-3% respectively for the 2026/27 academic year. This translates to like-for-like income growth of 0-2% (previously 0-4%).

Across the Empiric portfolio, 22% of rooms are now sold for the 2026/27 academic year. The slower sales performance reflects a delayed start to the sales cycle following a technology upgrade and the more cautious leasing behaviour seen in the Unite portfolio. Based on our initial assessment, we anticipate Empiric's letting performance to be in line with our direct-let portfolio for the 2026/27 academic year. The full benefit of our sales platform to Empiric will be realised for the 2027/28 sales cycle.

Earnings guidance

We expect to deliver adjusted EPS of 41.5-43.0p in 2026 (2025: 47.5p), principally reflecting the impact of lower Empiric income and occupancy.

Empiric's lower than expected income for 2025/26 will impact performance in 2026, particularly in H1, resulting in a c.1.0-1.5p reduction in adjusted EPS net of initial cost synergies. Thereafter, we expect an improvement in Empiric's income performance as we integrate it onto our platform and realise the full benefit of cost synergies from 2027.

Outlook

Demand for UK Higher Education remains strong, underpinned by growing domestic demand and increasing mobility of international students. Together with constrained housing supply, this supports sustainable growth in our rents and earnings over the long term.

There is greatest demand and most enduring appeal for the residential experience at the UK's strongest universities and our strategy is focused on increasing our alignment to these universities. We are uniquely positioned to meet university needs thanks to our best-in-class operating platform, providing the opportunity to grow and extend our already strong partnerships.

We have made early progress in delivery of the strategic plan set out at the end of 2025, focusing on our priorities of operational excellence and optimal capital allocation. We will build on this momentum during 2026 as we also begin to realise value from our acquisition of Empiric. Delivering on these priorities provides a strong platform for 2027 and beyond.

OPERATIONS REVIEW

Stronger cities continue to deliver

We achieved occupancy of 95.2% across our portfolio for the 2025/26 academic year (2024/25: 97.5%) as changing student behaviour at lower-ranked universities and slower leasing following major projects impacted lettings. The strength of our relationships with universities, the quality and affordability of our portfolio and focus on UK customers saw lettings outperform the wider PBSA sector, where occupancy averaged around 86%.

Annual rents increased by 4.0% on a like-for-like basis for the 2025/26 academic year (2024/25: 8.2%), with 4.6% growth across our nominated beds. This reflected our success in agreeing increased rental levels on renewals of single-year and new multi-year nomination agreements, where our university partners recognise the value our accommodation provides. Rents for direct-let tenancies increased by 3.6%, partly impacted by a reduction in average tenancy length of around 0.5 weeks to 47.6 weeks.

UK universities attract young people from around the world for the quality of learning and life experience they offer. This demand for university education and our accommodation is supported by demographic growth, with the UK population of 18-year-olds forecast to grow 6% (50,000) by 2030, and strong participation rates. We are also seeing a more stable policy environment for international recruitment following publication of the Government's new International Education Strategy.

Strongest universities taking market share

Overall, the undergraduate intake for 2025/26 increased by 2% to 578,000 (2024/25: 565,000), with a record number of UK 18-year-olds starting courses. We have been deliberate in aligning our portfolio to high- and medium-tariff universities, where the number of accepted applicants grew by 7% and 2% respectively for the 2025/26 academic year. In contrast, lower-tariff universities saw a 2% reduction in acceptances, marking an acceleration of the trend of the past decade where higher-tariff universities have captured a growing share of student demand. In response to this trend, our investment activity aims to increase our portfolio's weighting to high-tariff universities from 67% currently to 80% over the medium term.

International demand broadly stable

Recruitment of international students stabilised in 2025 after the 14% fall in student visa issuance in 2024 following visa policy changes and a review of the Graduate Route. The proportion of our 2025/26 customers from outside the UK was stable at 28% (2024/25: 28%), with more bookings from international undergraduates offsetting fewer bookings from Chinese postgraduates.

Recent data indicates broadly stable international student numbers, with 5% growth in international applicants through UCAS for the 2026/27 academic year balanced by fewer study visa applications in recent months.

Students seeking value from university

Students are increasingly selective when choosing where to study, with a growing focus on graduate outcomes and earnings potential as they seek to ensure they achieve value for money from their time at university. This is supported by data showing that the average Russell Group student enjoys a c.£350,000 lifetime earnings premium over a non-graduate, with the premium reducing materially for lower-ranked courses.

The highest-quality universities continue to see healthy accommodation demand as the enduring appeal of the UK's top universities attracts students from around the world. At lower-tariff providers, an increasing proportion of students are choosing to live at home as an alternative to the traditional residential experience. At these universities, around half of students now choose to live at home to reduce the overall cost of university, compared to only 15% at high-tariff providers.

New supply impacting some cities

New supply is taking longer to reach stabilised occupancy in a more competitive leasing market, with our new openings in 2025 65% occupied on completion. These new deliveries accounted for around a third of the increase in vacancy within our portfolio in 2025/26.

It is typical to see a period of lower occupancy and rental growth while a city adjusts to an increase in new supply, with Nottingham particularly impacted in 2025. We expect a reduction in new supply over the coming years as viability remains challenging for new development, reducing the impact of new openings outside of the strongest cities.

Continuing demand from universities

We have maintained a high proportion of income let to universities, with 37,660 beds (59% of total) provided under nomination agreements for 2025/26 (2024/25: 38,326 and 57%). The increase in the percentage of beds under nomination agreements reflects universities' growing reliance on private providers to meet their accommodation needs and our position as the partner of choice. We saw further improvement in our University Trust Score to +81 (2024: +80), recognising the strength of our partnerships, sector-leading student welfare offer, and thought leadership in the sector.

The unexpired term of our nomination agreements increased to 6.1 years for 2025/26 (2024/25: 5.8 years), reflecting the strength of our relationships and universities' willingness to commit to high-quality accommodation. A balance of nomination agreements and direct-let beds provides the benefit of having income secured by universities, as well as the ability to offer rooms to re-bookers and postgraduates and determine market pricing on an annual basis. We are targeting an increase in beds under nomination agreements to 60% going forward, aided by our university joint ventures and new developments as well as planned disposals.

83% of our nomination agreements by income are multi-year and therefore benefit from annual fixed or inflation-linked uplifts based on RPI or CPI (2024/25: 67%). The remaining agreements are single year, and we achieved a renewal rate of 77% with universities for 2025/26 where we sought to renew (2024/25: 81%).

UK students account for 72% of our customers for 2025/26 (2024/25: 72%), making up a large proportion of the beds under nomination agreements with universities. This represents a significant increase in our weighting to UK students over recent years, compared to 60% immediately prior to the pandemic, and reflects our success in growing the proportion of beds under nomination agreements and retaining second- and third-year students who might have historically moved into the HMO sector.

Postgraduates make up 16% of our customer base and non-first year undergraduates accounted for a further 21% of our bookings for the 2025/26 academic year (2024/25: 17% and 27%), reflecting the greater proportion of beds let through nomination agreements which predominantly house first-year students and fewer sales to returning UK students. The acquisition of Empiric broadens our offering to postgraduate and non-first year undergraduate students, who typically seek greater independence, and supports our strategy of increasing the segmentation of our customer offer to capture market share from the traditional HMO sector.

Occupancy by type and domicile by academic year

Acquisition of Empiric

Empiric's Hello Student brand delivered occupancy of 89% for the 2025/26 academic year and rental growth of 4.5%. This letting performance was below our expectations at the time of appraising the acquisition, reflecting more challenging recent leasing conditions. As a result, the Empiric portfolio is expected to contribute lower income and earnings in the first half of FY2026.

We are working closely with the Empiric team to drive performance across the portfolio. We have started marketing Hello Student properties to our customers in the 15 cities where our portfolios overlap and added their properties to our international distribution channels. Our priority is to return the Empiric portfolio to full occupancy over the next two sales cycles. We expect leasing performance for Empiric to be broadly in line with the Unite Students direct-let portfolio for 2026/27.

Taking action on costs

Property operating costs increased by 10% in 2025 (2024: 8%), principally driven by higher staff costs, increased marketing activity and additional central and other costs. Higher staff costs reflect our commitment to the Real Living Wage, resulting in an average 5% pay increase for city operations staff, as well as increases to employer's National Insurance contributions. Marketing costs increased due to higher costs of acquisition in a more competitive sales environment. Utility costs were broadly flat compared to the prior year, with increases in charges and levies offset by a reduction in consumption through our continued investment in energy efficiency initiatives. Other cost increases reflected higher council tax costs as a result of lower occupancy in certain cities and increased building insurance premiums.

At the end of the year, we reduced our central team costs by approximately 20%, responding to lower income for the 2025/26 academic year. We will maintain an appropriate cost base to reflect the operational performance of the business. These changes support our expectation for flat property and central costs in 2026 for the Unite business (excluding Empiric).

Technology enhancing customer experience and margins

Our technology upgrade programme delivered significant milestones in 2025 as we launched a new customer management system, finance system and learning platform for our people. The final phase of delivery in 2026 will deliver new booking and property management platforms. We expect to incur a further £10 million of costs in 2026 as the programme concludes. We expect to achieve a payback on our investment through enhanced utilisation of our portfolio and cost efficiencies, which will increase our EBIT margin by around 1% over the medium term, including £7 million p.a. of cost savings.

PROPERTY REVIEW

Our property portfolio saw a 0.1% decrease in valuations on a like-for-like basis during the year (Unite share: 0.5% decrease), as increases in property yields and capital expenditure offset rental growth. The see-through net initial yield of the portfolio was 5.2% at 31 December 2025 (31 December 2024: 5.1%), which reflects like-for-like yield expansion of 11 basis points in the year.

Investment activity in the UK student accommodation sector remains strong, with around £4 billion traded in 2025. Private equity and institutional investors have remained active in the sector, attracted by a positive outlook for rental growth, which reflects strong demand and constrained supply in many cities. Investor demand is greatest for newly-built assets and older assets, with value-add opportunities in strong markets.

Like-for-like capital growth¹

1. Excludes leased properties and fire safety expenditure costs

93% by value of the portfolio is income generating is (31 December 2024: 93%) and properties under development remained at 7% (31 December 2024: 7%) with the impact of new openings from the development pipeline balanced by capital expenditure for on-site projects during the year.

The PBSA investment portfolio, inclusive of Empiric, is 32% weighted to London by value on a Unite share basis and expected to remain around this level on a built-out basis following completion of our committed development pipeline.

Limited new supply

Supply of PBSA grew by around 10,000 beds in 2025, net of beds leaving the market, equivalent to 1.5% growth in PBSA supply (Source: Cushman and Wakefield). This remains significantly below levels of new supply in the period prior to the pandemic. Weekly rents of around £230 are now required to make development viable outside London, above market rents in 85% of our regional cities. In response to increasing costs, new supply is increasingly focused on higher price studio accommodation and is targeting a different market segment to our predominantly cluster-flat portfolio. Positively, we saw build cost inflation moderate during the year, although the availability of skilled labour remains tight, and build costs remain around 50% higher than five years ago.

The Building Safety Act has added three approval gateways to the design, build and occupation of new buildings adding 6-12 months to development programmes. During the year we were pleased to secure three pre-construction approvals from the Building Safety Regulator for our university partnership and uncommitted off-campus development projects.

We expect the combination of complex planning, increasing regulation, and higher build and funding costs to restrict the delivery of new supply for several years. We expect new supply in 2026 to maintain 2025 levels, before slowing significantly from 2027.

Increasing alignment to the strongest universities

University joint ventures

Strengthening our partnerships with universities through joint ventures for on-campus accommodation has been an objective of the business for several years and has the potential to be a significant source of growth in the years to come. Our first two university joint ventures in Newcastle and Manchester will deliver 4,300 beds by 2030 and contribute a combined £47 million (Unite share: £29 million) to net operating income, delivering a blended 7.4% yield-on-cost including recurring management fees. The projects will deliver high-quality accommodation at a range of price points, underpinned by demand from our university partners.

At our Castle Leazes joint venture in Newcastle, planning was granted in the first half and construction is now underway. This supports delivery of the first phase of the 2,000-bed project for 2028/29 academic year.

In Manchester, following the grant of planning permission and pre-construction approvals, construction is underway for the development of 2,300 new beds at Cambridge Halls for Manchester Metropolitan University. The first phase of the project targets delivery for the 2029/30 academic year. The partnership will redevelop the university's 770-bed halls, which is over 30 years old and no longer meets student needs. The joint venture will include over 400 beds based on a new cluster-flat design with a larger communal kitchen, allowing us to offer these rooms at a c.15% lower rent than standard designs.

We are in active discussions with a range of high-quality universities for further partnerships, which we are looking to progress over the next 12-18 months. These include discussions around stock transfer and refurbishment of existing university accommodation, as well as new development both on- and off-campus. We aim to secure one further joint venture per year, recognising the scale and complexity of these projects.

Completed schemes

During the year, we delivered over 1,000 new beds for 2025/26 academic year, with 623 beds at Avon Point in Bristol and 402 beds at Burnet Point in Edinburgh. Avon Point is well located for University of Bristol's new Temple Quarter campus, and the university has nominated 54% of beds for an initial 14-year term. At Burnet Point, we delivered 298 beds in cluster flats, as well as 104 beds in two- and three-bed clusters in a separate block. These smaller flats are let to postgraduate students, university staff and other young professionals. In the current sales environment, new openings have been slower to lease-up due to increased availability in the wider market. We expect our 2025 openings to deliver a meaningful improvement in occupancy for the 2026/27 academic year with the benefit of a full leasing cycle.

Off-campus development

We have increased our return requirements for new investment to reflect higher funding costs and increased delivery and leasing risks in the current environment. We are now seeking development yields on new direct-let schemes in excess of 8% in regional markets and 7% in London. These hurdles assume a university nominating a significant portion of the beds.

Our focus is now on successfully delivering our on-site schemes and seeking opportunities for further university joint ventures, including on-campus projects and stock transfer, building on our successes over the past year.

We are committed to two off-campus development schemes, totalling 1,650 beds in London and Glasgow. The projects have £109 million remaining costs to complete and will add a combined £21 million to net operating income from the 2027/28 academic year.

Construction is progressing well at our 719-bed Hawthorne House project in Stratford, which includes a new academy school. Construction will complete in June, and the project requires transitional approval from the Building Safety Regulator in advance of occupation in September. We are working with the Regulator and our supply chain to secure approval in line with our target completion date. 51% of the beds are nominated to University of the Arts London under a long-term agreement.

At Central Quay in Glasgow, we have started construction of the 934-bed project, supporting delivery for the 2027/28 academic year. The scheme is well located for University of Glasgow, a QS Global Top 100 university, with whom we have a long-standing relationship.

Secured development and partnerships pipeline

1. Direct-let (DL), Nominated (Noms) and Joint Venture (JV)

2. Yield on cost assumes the sale of academic space for c.£45 million

3. Unite share 51%. Yield on cost includes management fees in NOI and deducts development management fee from costs

4. Unite share 69%. Yield on cost includes management fees in NOI and deducts development management fee from costs

5. Unite share

Future off-campus pipeline

Our future pipeline includes an additional 2,900 beds for schemes where we have optionality on whether to proceed based on the risk-adjusted returns of projects relative to other investment opportunities. We will be disciplined when committing further capital to these projects, which will likely require a nomination underpin from a university for a significant portion of the beds.

We own three consented development sites, of which 83% by value is in London. We are reviewing options for these projects to deliver best value for shareholders, including disposal or potential third-party funding. While we explore options, we have deferred delivery of our 500-bed Freestone Island project in Bristol. Our Meridian Square and King's Place projects in London have also been delayed following an extended timeline to secure necessary approvals prior to construction.

We have also decided not to proceed with our TP Paddington development in London. This follows the grant of planning permission on appeal, which fulfilled our contractual commitment to the landowner. The 605-bed project was not financially viable based on our increased return requirements and an extended delivery programme. We have recognised a c.£10 million write-off of planning costs, which has been excluded from adjusted earnings and have no further commitments to the landowner.

Disposals

We continue to enhance the quality of the portfolio and manage our balance sheet leverage by recycling capital through disposals. During the year, we completed the sale of 10 properties in Aberdeen, Leicester, Leeds, Nottingham and Sheffield for £214 million (Unite share: £142 million). This included the sale of a portfolio of nine properties for £212 million (Unite share: £140 million) at a blended yield of 6.4% and priced c.1% below December 2024 book value, which completed in August 2025. The proceeds will be recycled into university joint ventures and asset management activity in our strongest markets.

We will continue to recycle capital from disposals to maintain net debt: EBITDA in the 6-7x range and LTV around c.30-35% on a built-out basis. We will target future disposals of around £300-400 million p.a. (Unite share), which will release £100-200 million p.a. of surplus capital for reinvestment. Disposals will be made up from a combination of lower growth assets, similar to those sold in 2025, stabilised assets in core markets, and lower-yielding or non-income producing assets. These disposals will enhance portfolio quality and be accretive to earnings as proceeds are reinvested.

Following the year end, we agreed the sale of St Pancras Way, a 571-bed asset in central London, to USAF for £186 million (Unite share: £126 million), subject to technical due diligence. The building was developed by Unite in 2014 and is undergoing a light refurbishment to the common areas. The transaction will be funded by existing cash headroom in USAF and the issue of new USAF Units (the 'New Units'), to be fully underwritten by Unite. Unite will receive minimum net proceeds of £115m in cash and increase its ownership of USAF increase to approximately 32%, subject to USAF investors choosing to take-up their pre-emption rights.

Asset management

In the year, investment in asset management and refurbishment activity totalled £44 million (Unite share: £30 million), delivering a yield-on-cost of 8.1%. The 10 projects included full refurbishment of existing rooms, upgrades to common spaces and enhancements to the environmental performance of the properties.

Fire safety

Fire safety is a critical part of our health and safety strategy, and we have a track record of leading the sector on fire safety standards through our proactive approach. During the period, we completed fire safety improvements on eight properties across our estate and spent £66 million (Unite share: £36 million) on fire safety capex during the year. Our year-end balance sheet includes committed fire safety spend of £80 million (Unite share: £46 million), the costs for which will be incurred over the next two years.

During the year, we reached agreement with contractors for recovery of £14 million of remediation costs (Unite share: £8 million) in relation to 10 properties. In total, we have now agreed settlements totalling £86 million (Unite share: £59 million). We expect to recover 50-75% of total cladding remediation costs through claims from contractors, although the settlement and recognition of these claims is likely to lag costs incurred to remediate properties. We anticipate the remediation programme to complete by 2031 with net spend reducing materially over time.

FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE

The Group uses alternative performance measures (APMs), which are not defined or specified under IFRS. These APMs, which are not considered to be a substitute for IFRS measures, provide additional helpful information and include, among others, measures based on the European Public Real Estate Association (EPRA) best practice recommendations. The metrics are used internally to measure and manage the business.

Earnings and adjusted earnings

We delivered a robust operating performance in 2025, with adjusted earnings increasing by 9% to £232.3 million (2024: £213.8 million), driven by growth in like-for-like rental income and investment activity. NOI growth more than offset higher overhead and finance costs when compared to the prior year. Adjusted EPS grew 2% to 47.5p (2024: 46.6p), reflecting the growth in adjusted earnings and increased share count following our July 2024 equity raise.

A reconciliation of profit after tax to EPRA earnings and adjusted earnings is set out in note 2.2b to the financial statements.

IFRS profit attributable to owners of the parent company reduced to £97.6 million in the year (2024: £441.9 million), reflecting the increase in adjusted earnings of £18.5 million, a revaluation loss of £73.7 million (2024: £239.6 million gain) and a £22.5 million loss for the valuation of interest rate swaps and cancellation costs (2024: £3.5 million loss).

1. Includes TP Paddington abortive costs

2. Includes restructuring costs and Empiric acquisition costs to date

A reconciliation of profit before tax to adjusted earnings and EPRA earnings is expanded in section 7 of the financial statements.

Rental growth and profitability

Rental income increased by £30.2 million to £428.2 million, up 8% compared to 2024. Like-for-like rental income, excluding the impact of major refurbishments, acquisitions, disposals and development completions, increased by 5% during the year, reflecting strong rental growth but modestly lower occupancy for the year. Non-like-for-like income grew by £15.3 million, with additional rental income from development completions and asset management schemes exceeding the impact of income forgone through disposals.

Property operating expenses increased by 9% for like-for-like properties, primarily driven by higher staff costs due to the 5% increase in the Real Living Wage and higher Employer's National Insurance contributions. Marketing costs increased due to higher costs of acquisition in a more competitive sales environment. Other cost increases included higher council tax as a result of lower occupancy in certain cities and increased building insurance premiums.

Together, this resulted in a 6% increase in net operating income to £294.0 million (2024: £276.1 million) or 3% on a like-for-like basis.

Management fee income from joint ventures remains unchanged at £17.3 million (2024: £17.3 million), with the benefit of higher income and property valuations offset by the impact of redemptions in USAF over the past two years.

Overheads increased by £10.1 million to £48.5 million (2024: £38.4 million). During the year, Software as a Service (SaaS) implementation costs relating to our technology upgrade programme totalled £19.4 million, for which a deferred tax credit of £4.8 million was recognised (2024: £15.9 million and £4.0 million). Excluding SaaS implementation costs, overheads increased by £6.6 million driven by a £2.4 million increase in central staff costs, £1.2 million of dual running costs from relocation of offices and £1.7 million lower VAT recovery due to increased costs relating to property letting activity and a £1.3 million inflationary increase across the remainder of the cost base.  

Our EBIT margin reduced to 65.9% (2024: 68.1%) due to cost growth outpacing rental increases as a result of lower occupancy.

Finance costs increased to £46.7 million in 2025 (2024: £44.0 million), reflecting an increase in our average cost of debt to 3.9% (2024: 3.6%) due to refinancing activity and higher rates on new debt. Capitalised interest linked to our development pipeline increased to £26.8 million (2024: £15.5 million) in line with increased levels of development activity.

Development costs and other items include a £4.2 million non-recurring Newcastle University joint venture fee.

We are targeting to hold costs flat in 2026 for the Unite business (excluding Empiric), reflecting the reduction in our central overhead at the end of 2025 and discipline around other cost lines.

EPRA NTA

EPRA net tangible assets (NTA) per share, our key measure of NAV, decreased by 2% to 955p at 31 December 2025 (31 December 2024: 972p). EPRA net tangible assets were £4,685 million at 31 December 2025, a £73 million decrease from £4,758 million in the prior year.

The main drivers of the £73 million decrease in EPRA NTA and 17p decrease in EPRA NTA per share were an increase in property valuation yields and capital expenditure, which were partially offset by rental growth.

IFRS net assets decreased by 2% in the year to £4,734 million (31 December 2024: £4,812 million), principally driven by net valuation movements and retained profits. On a per share basis, IFRS NAV decreased by 2% to 966p (31 December 2024: 982p).

Property portfolio

The valuation of our property portfolio at 31 December 2025, including our share of property assets held in USAF, LSAV and the Newcastle University joint venture, was £6,601 million (31 December 2024: £6,375 million). The £226 million increase in portfolio value reflects the valuation movements outlined above, capital expenditure and interest capitalised on developments.

Summary balance sheet

1. Rental properties (owned) includes assets classified as held for sale in the IFRS balance sheet

Return on equity (total accounting return)

Dividends paid of 37.7p (2024: 36.0p), together with growth in EPRA NTA, resulted in a total accounting return of 2.1% in the year (2024: 9.6%). Our adjusted EPS yield (measured against opening EPRA NTA) decreased to 4.9% in the year (2024: 5.1%), reflecting NTA growth in the prior year.

Cash flow and net debt

During the year, net debt increased to £1,744 million (2024: £1,510 million). The key components of the movement in net debt were an inflow from operational cash of £189 million, disposals of £142 million, offset by total capital expenditure of £349 million and dividend payments of £175 million.

In 2026, we expect see-through net debt to be broadly stable as planned capital expenditure on investment and development activity will offset anticipated property disposals.

Debt financing and liquidity

We are focused on maintaining a strong and flexible balance sheet and use debt to support our growth and enhance risk-adjusted returns. We manage our financing risk by ensuring that we have a diversified range of funding sources, well-laddered debt maturities and appropriate hedging of future interest rates.

We closely monitor our interest cover and net debt to EBITDA ratios. In 2025, interest cover decreased to 6.0x (2024: 6.2x) and net debt to EBITDA increased to 6.0x (2024: 5.5x), reflecting the impact of increased borrowing. We aim to maintain an ICR ratio of 3.5-4.0x and a net debt to EBITDA ratio of 6-7x.

LTV increased to 27% at 31 December 2025 (31 December 2024: 24%), reflecting increased net debt and a more modest increase in our property valuations. We expect to maintain LTV between 30-35% on a built-out basis, while maintaining healthy leverage metrics on a cashflow basis.

We remain committed to active portfolio management through capital recycling and are targeting disposals of around £300-400 million p.a. (Unite share).

At the end of the year, Standard & Poor's affirmed The Unite Group credit rating at BBB+, reflecting our leverage targets, robust capital position and track record.

Funding activity

As at 31 December 2025, the wholly-owned Group had £651 million of cash and debt headroom (31 December 2024: £1,024 million), comprising £36 million of cash balances and £615 million of undrawn debt (2024: £274 million and £750 million respectively).

In June, USAF refinanced its £395 million 2025 bonds through a new £400 million eight-year secured loan with Rothesay Life. The new facility completes refinancing activity in USAF with no maturities now due before 2029.

In December, the Group refinanced its £750 million RCF with five existing relationship banks into a new three-year facility, extendable by up to two further years. Following this refinancing, the SMBC £150 million unsecured term loan was repaid in advance of its maturity in March 2027.

In December, the Group entered into a joint venture with Newcastle University (Unite share: 51%) supported by a £150 million development facility with Rothesay Life. Debt drawdowns are expected to commence in May 2027.

In January 2026, the Group entered into a joint venture with Manchester Metropolitan University (Unite share: 69%) supported by a £236 million development facility with PIMCO. Debt drawdowns are expected to commence in October 2027.

Interest rate hedging arrangements and cost of debt

Our average cost of debt increased to 3.9% in the year (2024: 3.6%) as new debt was issued at higher prevailing rates. At the year-end, 100% of the Group's debt was subject to fixed or capped interest rates (31 December 2024: 100%), providing protection against future changes in interest rates. We expect our average cost of debt to increase to 4.3% for 2026 and 4.5% for 2027 based on our hedging position, forecast future drawings, planned refinancing events and market interest rate expectations. We expect a reduction in capitalised interest in 2026 to £10-15 million (2025: £26.8 million), driven by a reduced level of development activity. The Group's average debt maturity has remained broadly unchanged at 4.0 years (31 December 2024: 3.8 years).

Dividend

We are proposing a final dividend payment of 24.9p per share (2024: 24.9p), totalling 37.7p for the full year (2024: 37.3p) and representing a 1% increase compared to 2024. This represents a payout ratio of 79% of adjusted EPS. The final dividend will be fully paid as a Property Income Distribution (PID) of 24.9p, which will fully satisfy our PID requirement for the 2025 financial year.

Subject to approval at Unite's Annual General Meeting on 15 May 2026, the dividend will be paid on 29 May 2026 to shareholders on the register at close of business on 17 April 2026.

During 2025, scrip elections were received for 5% and 10% of shares in issue for the 2024 final dividend and 2025 interim dividend respectively. The Company does not intend to offer a scrip alternative for the 2025 final dividend.

The Company intends to maintain a stable dividend payout in 2026, distributing 37.7p for the financial year, balancing confidence in the medium-term outlook with the expected reduction in adjusted EPS for the year ahead.

Tax and REIT status

The Group holds REIT status and is exempt from tax on its property business. During the year, we recognised a corporation tax charge of £3.1 million (2024: £4.8 million charge) with the decrease primarily due to lower taxable profits from interest income.

Funds and joint ventures

The table below summarises the key financials at 31 December 2025 for our co-investment vehicles USAF and LSAV.

Property valuations increased by 0.7% for USAF and 0.5% in LSAV over the year, on a like-for-like basis, with rental growth more than offsetting the impact of increases to property yields. Property yields increased by 12bps for USAF and 18bps for LSAV to a weighted average yield of 5.3% and 4.7% respectively.

During the year, £117 million of USAF redemption requests were cleared, with £105 million traded on the secondary market at an average 2% discount to NAV and £12 million paid to unitholders out of disposal proceeds. Unite's ownership of USAF increased by 0.7% to 29.8% following redemptions paid to unitholders during the year. USAF has capital available to invest, which will part fund the acquisition of St Pancras Way from Unite for £186 million, increasing USAF's portfolio weighting to London.

Management fees

During the year, the Group recognised net fees of £17.3 million from its fund and asset management activities (2024: £17.3 million), which remained unchanged in the year. The benefit of increased fees from higher income and property valuations were offset by lower fees following redemptions in USAF over the past two years.

Responsibility statement of the directors in respect of the annual financial report

We confirm that to the best of our knowledge:

·      The financial statements, prepared in accordance with the relevant financial reporting framework, give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or loss of the company and the undertakings included in the consolidation taken as a whole

·      The strategic report includes a fair review of the development and performance of the business and the position of the company and the undertakings included in the consolidation taken as a whole, together with a description of the principal risks and uncertainties that they face

·      The annual report and financial statements, taken as a whole, are fair, balanced and understandable and provide the information necessary for shareholders to assess the Group's position and performance, business model and strategy.

Joe Lister                                               Mike Burt

Chief Executive                                     Chief Financial Officer

24 February 2026

Forward-looking statements

The preceding preliminary statement has been prepared for the shareholders of the Company, as a body, and for no other persons. Its purpose is to assist shareholders of the Company to assess the strategies adopted by the Company and the potential for those strategies to succeed and for no other purpose. The preliminary statement contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risk factors associated with, among other things, the economic, regulatory and business circumstances occurring from time to time in the sectors and markets in which the Group operates. It is believed that the expectations reflected in these statements are reasonable, but they may be affected by a wide range of variables that could cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated. No assurances can be given that the forward-looking statements will be realised. The forward-looking statements reflect the knowledge and information available at the date of preparation. Nothing in the preliminary statement should be considered or construed as a profit forecast for the Group. Except as required by law, the Group has no obligation to update forward-looking statements or to correct any inaccuracies therein.

Primary statements

Consolidated income statement

Consolidated statement of comprehensive income

Consolidated balance sheet

Consolidated statement of changes in shareholders' equity

Statement of cash flows

Section 1: Basis of preparation

Section 2: Results for the year

      2.1 Segmental information

      2.2 Earnings

      2.3 Net assets

      2.4 Revenue and costs

      2.5 Tax

Section 3: Asset management

      3.1 Wholly owned property assets

      3.2 Investments in joint ventures

Section 4: Funding

      4.1 Borrowings

      4.2 Interest rate swaps

      4.3 Net financing costs

      4.4 Gearing

      4.5 Covenant compliance

      4.6 Equity

      4.7 Dividends

Section 5: Working capital

      5.1 Cash and cash equivalents

      5.2 Credit risk

Section 6: Post balance sheet events

Section 7: Alternative performance measures

Glossary

Company information

CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT

For the year ended 31 December 2025

All results are derived from continuing activities.