Company type | Public |
---|---|
Industry | Student accommodation |
Founded | 1991 |
Founder | Nicholas Porter |
Headquarters | Bristol, England, UK |
Key people | Phil White CBE, (Chairman) Richard Smith (CEO) Joe Lister (CFO) |
Products | Student accommodation (halls of residence) |
Services | Property investment and development |
Revenue | £276.1 million (2023) [1] |
£154.7 million (2023) [1] | |
£103.6 million (2023) [1] | |
Number of employees | 2,000 (2024) [2] |
Website | www |
The Unite Group (trading as Unite Students) provides purpose built student accommodation (PBSA) across the United Kingdom.
The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange as a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
The Unite Group was founded by Nicholas Porter in Bristol, England, in 1991. [3] Aged 21 and following research with the University of the West of England, he recognised a growing demand for student accommodation. [4] After a period of expansion within Bristol, in 1998 Unite opened its first properties in London. It listed on the Alternative Investment Market the following year. [5]
In 2000 the business moved its share register to the London Stock Exchange, and opened properties in Manchester, Liverpool and Portsmouth. [6] During the following decade, Unite created investment vehicles to secure growth in London, across England and into Scotland. Of these vehicles, The Unite UK Student Accommodation Fund (USAF [7] ) is Europe's largest fund focusing solely on direct-let student accommodation. [8] In 2006, Porter announced he was stepping down as chief executive. He was succeeded at the end of the year by chief financial officer Mark Allan. [9]
Former National Express chief executive Phil White became non-executive chairman in May 2009, succeeding Geoffrey Maddrell, after ten years in the role. [10] By 2011 the business had grown to 40,000 beds. It remains the UK's largest provider of student accommodation by capacity, [11] but second to IQ Student Accommodation by value of its portfolio of property. [12]
In 2012 it founded charitable trust The Unite Foundation, which provides free accommodation and a cost-of-living allowance to students from "challenging circumstances". [13] In April 2014 Unite renamed itself "Unite Students". Simultaneously, it launched its "Home for Success" corporate philosophy; which it describes as its "business purpose". The Home for Success announcement included a £40m reinvestment of profits into the business and 16 "signature commitments", all of which relate to an improved student experience. [14]
Unite Group converted to a real estate investment trust with effect from 1 January 2017. [15]
In November 2019, the Competition and Markets Authority approved the proposed acquisition by the company of its competitor, Liberty Living, for £1.4 billion. [16] The transaction was completed in December 2019. [17]
On 1 June 2022, it was announced that it will be promoted from the FTSE 250, and became a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index effective on 20 June. [18]
The company provides residential accommodation to around 74,000 students across 123 buildings across the UK, [19] and is the largest and oldest PBSA provider in the country. [20]
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