9th Sep 2025 09:55
(Alliance News) - Unite Group PLC and Empiric Student Property PLC on Tuesday both announced a "strong" sales performance as the takeover of Empiric Student by Unite neared.
Unite, a Bristol, England-based student accommodation provider, back in August had announced it will buy the London-based peer for roughly GBP710 million in total. Empiric shareholders will receive 0.085 of a new Unite share, plus 32 pence in cash, valuing each share in Empiric at roughly 94.2p for GBP634 million. Including dividends, this rises to a 107.5p per share valuation, or GBP723 million in total.
Unite and Empiric on Tuesday announced the court and general meetings will take place on October 6.
Unite reported that that its performance so far is in line with financial guidance, with 94% of rooms in its portfolio have been sold for the 2025/26 academic year.
"This reflects a strong sales performance in the period since A-level results in mid-August [90% sold as at 12 August 2025] with sales to international and postgraduate students expected to continue through September. Our sales to date support rental growth of 4-5% and we continue to target occupancy of at least 97%," Unite said.
Unite said its financial performance in the year to date, and the outlook for the current academic year, supports its aim of achieving adjusted earnings per share between 47.5 pence and 48.25p for 2025, at least 1.9% higher than 46.6p in 2024.
FTSE 250-listed Empiric reported on Tuesday that occupancy for the 2025/26 academic year is 84%, a rise of 7 percentage points from 77% in mid-August.
"With student application data remaining strong, the Empiric Group's sales pattern continuing to be ahead of the wider market and a reservation period that typically extends through the autumn until the start of the January term, Empiric continues to target an occupancy rate of 97% for the academic year," it added.
Unite shares rose 0.7% to 708.50 pence each on Tuesday morning in London, while Empiric shares were flat at 90.00p.
By Tom Budszus, Alliance News slot editor
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