Unite Group has revealed an increase in sales its Q1 set of results after reporting increasing momentum in both rental growth and occupancy rates.

The student accommodation developer revealed it is on track to deliver 4-5% rental growth and 97-98% occupancy for 2025/26.

United said the pace of sales had increased since its preliminary results and that 75% of rooms are now reserved for the 2025/26 academic year, a figure in line with expectations for a later sales cycle, following the normalisation in leasing trends in 2024.

Demand from universities is also strong for the coming year, as they look to secure accommodation to meet student demand, Unite added.

Unite CEO, Joe Lister, said that student numbers are expected to increase again for the 2025/26 academic year, due to a growing UK 18-year-old population and improving trends in international student recruitment.

“Reservations have accelerated in recent weeks, in line with our expectations for a later leasing cycle and are underpinned by nomination agreements from our university partners,” Lister added. “We remain on track to deliver rental growth of 4-5% and occupancy of 97-98% for the 2025/26 academic year.”

As of 31 March, the Unite UK Student Accommodation Fund (USAF) was valued at £2.9bn, a 0.7% increase on a like-for-like basis during the quarter.

Unite said this increase reflects quarterly rental growth of 0.8%, while property yields were stable over the quarter at 5.2%. The group’s portfolio comprises 24,326 beds in 61 properties across 19 university towns and cities in the UK.

Head of property research at Quilter Cheviot, Oli Creasey, commented that Unite had posted a Q1 update with “mixed signals”.

“The company has reported valuation growth in both its London and UK regional portfolios at just below 1% for the quarter in each, implying an annualised growth rate of 3-4%,” Creasey said.

“This increase has come from rental growth, with modest yield expansion in London capping a slightly higher rental growth figure in the capital. The rental and capital growth figures are slowing compared to last year, but that is to be expected; student accommodation rents are largely inflationary, and the last couple of years have seen supra-normal growth rates in the sector which are now abating.”

Creasey added: “Unite still expects the portfolio to be fully occupied by the start of the next academic year, and is guiding to rental growth of 4-5%, which ties in well with the quarterly valuation update.”

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