24 February 2026
If you are covering the latest results from Unite Group, the student accommodation provider, please find below a comment from Oli Creasey, head of property research at Quilter Cheviot:
“Unite's full year results this morning are a reminder of the challenges the company faced in 2025. With occupancy dropped to around 95%, the lowest in recent years, the impact was felt across both the income statement and balance sheet, although it should be noted that rental growth remained strong at 4% on a like-for-like basis for the start of the current academic year.
“The company's net asset value reduced 2% over the course of the year, though it was up 1% in the first half of the year, with all of the weakness coming in the latter six months. The property portfolio saw outward yield shift of 11 basis points, almost all in the second half, which unwound most of the gains caused by rental growth on valuation. Likewise, earnings per share growth was 2% for the year, but almost of all which occurred in the first half. That EPS figure of 47.5p has come in at the very low end of the company guidance range.
“Of greatest concern for investors will be the guidance for 2026 issued this morning. Management first provided guidance on 2026 numbers at the company investor day in November 2025 when a reduction in EPS was flagged, but today's update downgrades those forecasts further. Prior guidance was for EPS to reduce 7 to 10% year-on-year; today's downgrade is closer to 10 to 13%. Most notable is the forecast for rental growth for the 2026/27 academic year to be at the low end of 2 to 3%, and for occupancy to be between 93-96%, suggesting a likely further downgrade in this key metric.
“The key question being asked about Unite in 2025 was whether the occupancy figure was a blip that would be quickly recovered from, or a sign of longer-term issues. With a further drop now likely in the coming year, it seems the answer is more likely to be the latter.”
