Unite Group reports ongoing value growth in its portfolios

Student accommodation manager and developer the Unite Group issued its quarterly property valuation of the Unite UK Student Accommodation Fund (USAF) and the London Student Accommodation Joint Venture (LSAV) as at 31 March on Tuesday.

The FTSE 250 company said USAF's property portfolio was independently valued at £2.28bn, representing a like-for-like increase of 0.7% during the quarter.

It said the portfolio comprised 25,218 beds in 71 properties across 23 university towns and cities in the UK.

LSAV's investment portfolio was independently valued at £1.18bn, up 1.4% in the quarter on a like-for-like basis.

Unite said LSAV's investment portfolio comprised 8,477 beds across 13 properties in London, as well as Aston Student Village in Birmingham.

The increase in valuations was said to have been driven by rental growth and an average two basis points of yield compression in both portfolios.

Unite said the overall USAF portfolio was valued at a blended yield of 5.4%, and LSAV's portfolio at 4.7%.

Reservations for the 2018/19 academic year were said to be progressing “strongly”, with 78% of bed spaces let, in line with the same point last year.

“Unite Students has delivered another strong performance in the first quarter of 2018,” said chief financial officer Joe Lister.

“Reservations for the 2018/19 academic year remain ahead of last year's run rate and support a positive rental growth outlook.

“Our reputation is underpinned by long-term, meaningful partnerships with leading universities, allowing us to capitalise on our market-leading position in a sector that continues to demonstrate structural growth.”