finance
Unite Books 79% of Student Bedrooms for 2026-27 Academic Year
Britain's largest student accommodation provider saw a slight decline in bookings from a year earlier, with shares falling 0.8 percent to 478p. The company accelerated sales of non-core properties this week, including a 571-bed block near London St Pancras station. Unite said it expects to deliver at the lower end of its occupancy and rental growth forecasts.
May 15, 11:21 AM·2m read1 source
The TimesAudio version
Tap play to generate a narrated version.
Developing·Limited corroboration so far. This page will refresh as more sources emerge.
Unite let 79 percent of its 72,000 student bedrooms for the 2026-27 academic year, down from 80 percent at the same point last year, The Times reported. The FTSE 250 company stood at 74 percent reservations at the end of its first quarter. 8 percent to 478p on the news and have dropped more than 40 percent in the past 12 months.
More than half of the reservations, 54 percent, fall under nomination agreements with universities that guarantee to lease a significant proportion of beds. Universities are set to confirm their requirements over the next couple of months. The other 25 percent came from direct sales, up from 22 percent last year, driven by targeted pricing initiatives in some markets.
Unite expects occupancy of between 93 percent and 96 percent next year and rental growth of between 2 percent and 3 percent. The company reiterated it expects to deliver at the lower end of the range for both occupancy and rental growth. After the pandemic its halls of residence were regularly more than 97 percent full.
Bookings for the Hello Student portfolio Unite acquired from Empiric Student Property stood at 47 percent for the 2026-27 academic year, down from 55 percent a year earlier. Unite experienced an accelerated bookings pace in recent weeks. The company is confident the Hello Student portfolio would reach occupancy of about 85 percent this year.
While Unite’s beds are typically filled by first-year students, Empiric’s Hello Student brand markets its buildings more to second and third-year students and postgraduates. Unite acquired its rival Empiric for £634 million last summer, cementing its position as Britain’s biggest student landlord.
