Unite Group (LSE:UTG), the UK's leading owner, manager and developer of student accommodation, has reserved 95% of its beds for the 2026/27 academic year, matching the prior year and landing within its 94-96% guidance range.
The London-listed group expects like-for-like income growth of 0.5-1.0% for 2026/27, at the lower end of its previous 0-2% guidance range, reflecting a modest occupancy increase and broadly flat rents rather than the 1-2% rental growth previously flagged.
"Occupancy is slightly ahead of last year and we have secured income growth in line with our expectations, supporting our earnings outlook for FY2026", said chief executive Joe Lister.
Its Hello Student brand, formerly Empiric, has reserved 91% of beds for 2026/27, up sharply from 84% a year earlier, with scope to reach 92% in the coming weeks, ahead of prior guidance of 88-90%.
The 719-bed Hawthorne House development in Stratford, which includes a new academy school, opened fully let for its first year, with half its beds secured under a long-term nomination agreement with the University of the Arts London.
UK universities lifted undergraduate acceptances by 1% for 2026/27, with high-tariff institutions, where Unite's portfolio is concentrated, growing acceptances by 6%.
Unite confirmed adjusted EPS guidance of 41.5-43.0p for FY2026, with trading through the first eight months in line with expectations.
The company will provide a further trading update alongside third-quarter fund valuations on 8 October.
News Intelligence what this means for the company
Unite Group has held its FY2026 adjusted EPS guidance at 41.5–43.0p while confirming 95% bed reservations for 2026/27, matching prior-year pace. However, the company has downgraded its 2026/27 like-for-like income growth forecast to 0.5–1.0% (the lower end of prior 0–2% guidance), driven by broadly flat rents rather than the 1–2% rental growth previously assumed, offset only by a modest occupancy gain. The Hello Student brand showed material improvement to 91% reservations (from 84% a year earlier), but this cannot offset the rental headwind across the portfolio.
The reiterated earnings guidance masks a material deterioration in the underlying rental environment: flat rents versus prior 1–2% growth expectations represent a structural shift in pricing power, not a temporary pause. While occupancy resilience and the Hello Student turnaround are positives, the income growth downgrade signals that the company's near-term earnings accretion will depend on cost discipline and capital deployment rather than organic rental uplift.
Insights assembled by AI. Editor-reviewed and grounded in tickstock’s coverage and proprietary knowledge graph.
Content is for informational purposes only, not financial advice.
