Unite Students – Results for the year ended 31st December 2019
Richard Smith, Chief Executive of Unite Students, commented:
“2019 was a successful and transformational year for Unite. We made good progress against all of our key metrics and continued to deliver meaningful growth in our recurring earnings. We also leveraged our best-in-class operating platform to complete the acquisition of Liberty Living’s 24,000-bed portfolio. Our strong results remain underpinned by the quality of our value-for-money product and the strength of our long-term relationships with Universities. These qualities differentiate Unite in a sector that remains undersupplied and is anticipating strong growth in student numbers over the next decade, as UK Higher Education maintains its global standing. A UK University education is highly valued by young people around the world.
The outlook for the business remains strong. Reservations for the 2020/21 academic year are in line with record levels, supporting our like-for-like rental growth guidance of 3.0-3.5% through a combination of further utilisation enhancements and value-driven price increases. Together with our development and University partnership pipeline of over 5,000 beds, this provides high visibility over sustainable earnings growth and we maintain our positive outlook.
While Brexit negotiations and the ongoing review of Higher Education funding provide some uncertainty, our strategy of aligning to the best Universities and providing good-quality, value-for-money accommodation for growing segments of the market underpins our long-term confidence in the business.” …