Unite Group, the UK’s largest student property developer and manager, has announced a 78% plunge in pre-tax profits for 2025 after a fall in portfolio value, while 2026 income is set to come in at below previous guidance.
In its preliminary 2025 results, the group recorded a £97.6m pre-tax profit, while diluted earnings per share (EPS) stood at 19.9p, down from the £441.9m and 96.1p per share the year before.
The group said the drop in profits reflected a £73.7m revaluation loss, compared to a £239.6m gain in 2024; and a £22.5m loss for the valuation of interest rate swaps and cancellation costs, although adjusted earnings increased to £18.5m.
Occupancy also dipped to 95.2% in the 2024-25 academic year, from 97.5% in the 2023-24 academic year, while rental growth fell from 4% to 8.2%.
The group’s total 2025 revenue was up 10.6% year on year at £332.8m, but 2026-27 income is expected to come in at the lower end of guidance, with 2% to 3% rental growth and a 93% to 96% occupancy rate.
The group launched a £100m share buyback scheme in January and this morning (24 February) confirmed the £186m sale of its London St Pancras Way scheme to the Unite Student Accommodation Fund, a joint venture with Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC, with Unite’s share standing at £126m.
The group’s planned £723m merger with rival Empiric Student Property received final approval from the Competitions and Markets Authority last year, but Unite said Empiric’s 2025-26 income will be below expectations and its 2026 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 41.5p to 43p per share reflected “lower Empiric income and occupancy”.
Despite the profit fall, chief executive Joe Lister said Unite delivered a “robust performance” 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”.
He added: “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. While there is much to do, we are making early progress and building momentum.”
Oli Creasey, head of property research at Quilter Cheviot, said the results are a “reminder of the challenges the company faced in 2025”.
He added that the fall in occupancy to around 95%, “the lowest in recent years”, had impacted “both the income statement and balance sheet, although rental growth remained strong at 4% on a like-for-like basis for the start of the current academic year.
“Of greatest concern for investors will be the guidance for 2026. Management first provided guidance on 2026 numbers in November 2025, when a reduction in EPS was flagged, but today’s update downgrades those forecasts further.
“The key question 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.”
In January, Unite also revealed it was scrapping a planned 600-bed student accommodation scheme in Paddington, central London, after substantial planning costs hit the viability of the development.
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