UK’s largest student property group expects grade A performance next year

Unite Students is confident of “delivering full occupancy” in the next academic year, after a strong start to the sales cycle.

The Bristol-headquartered property group also expects to achieve rental growth of 4-5% next year, in line with increases seen this year which have helped drive valuation increases across its portfolio.

Unite Students is the UK’s largest owner, manager, and developer of purpose-built student accommodation, providing homes to 68,000 students.

Joe Lister, chief executive of Unite Students, said: “We have seen a strong start to the 2025/26 sales cycle, highlighting the continued demand for our high-quality accommodation from both students and universities.

“The outlook for student numbers remains positive with a growing UK 18-year-old population and improving trends in international student recruitment given a more settled policy backdrop in recent months. This supports our confidence in delivering full occupancy and rental growth of 4-5% for the 2025/26 academic year.”

Unite Students raised £450m in July to fund property acquisitions and developments, and it has since agreed deals that has deployed around half of that money.

“We have also continued to make good progress with the delivery of our development pipeline and have acquired eight investment properties, with value-add potential, in recent weeks,” added Lister.

“These transactions grow our presence in some of the UK’s leading university cities where demand for accommodation is strongest.”