Chief exec of leading South West firm to step down at end of the year

Bristol firm Unite Students has announced its chief executive has decided to step down after 13 years with the business.

Richard Smith is leaving his role at the end of the year and is being replaced by chief financial officer Joe Lister.

Smith will stay on as an advisor to the business until next September to ensure a smooth handover of responsibilities and to provide support on Unite’s relationships with higher education partners and government stakeholders.

Richard steps down after 13 years with Unite, having been chief executive from 2016.

During this time Unite has grown to 157 properties across 23 university towns and cities, providing homes to over 70,000 students.

Richard is stepping down to pursue his personal interest in supporting the education and development of young people, including understanding issues that affect mental health.

Joe steps into the role after 22 years with Unite, including 15 years as CFO.

He also played an integral role in delivering the group’s investment strategy and has direct responsibility for its property function.

Michael Burt, currently group investment director, will be promoted to CFO. He will assume responsibility for all areas of finance and brings with him a wealth of experience in the sector.

Mike joined Unite in January 2019 from equity brokerage Exane where he was head of real estate research.

Katherine Grafton, currently group finance director, will be promoted to deputy chief financial officer,

Other key members of the senior management team include Karan Khanna, chief customer officer, who leads all aspects of operations for the business and will report to Joe. Claire Barber, who joined the business earlier this year as asset management director, and Tom Brewerton, who leads the property development team, will report to Mike.

Richard Huntingford, Chair of Unite, commented: “On behalf of the board, I would like to extend our sincere thanks to Richard and acknowledge his significant achievements over the last eight years as CEO. He has been a driving force behind our successful strategy of aligning to the best universities where demand is highest and building Unite into a purpose-led, responsible business.”

Richard Smith added: “It has been a privilege to lead Unite Students over the last eight years. I am proud that through our purpose of providing a Home for Success, hundreds of thousands of students have benefitted from the overall experience, value for money and extra support that our accommodation offers. With Unite in such a strong position, both financially and operationally, I felt now was the right time to step down and focus on my personal goal of helping improve access to education for young people. I would like to extend my thanks and best wishes to Joe and our excellent team who have worked so hard to get Unite to where it is today.”

Joe Lister said: “Unite Students is poised to enter a significant period of opportunity, uniquely positioned to grow our platform and tackle the shortfall of suitable accommodation for students. I am hugely excited to be working with Mike and the wider Unite team. We are committed to providing more students with the quality, affordable accommodation they need through our pipeline of development and asset management projects and working collaboratively with university partners to unlock the potential of their campuses.”

The company also issued a short trading statement.

Unite said it had 99.7 per cent occupancy for the current academic year and saw rental growth of 7.3 per cent.

The value of its property portfolio remained broadly stable in the third quarter.

Richard Smith said: “We have delivered record occupancy and strong rental growth for the 2023/24 academic year, with increasing demand from both students and universities reflecting the growing attractiveness of our fixed-priced, all-inclusive offer.

“The strong letting performance increases our confidence in delivering at least five per cent rental growth for the 2024/25 sales cycle and supports our property valuations as the market adjusts to an environment of higher interest rates.

“The UK is increasingly short of suitable student accommodation as HMO landlords continue to leave the market at pace. As the leading provider of PBSA, we have a crucial role to play and are uniquely positioned to address this supply need. We continue to work closely with universities to ensure students have access to high quality, affordable accommodation.”