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Highlights

  • Unite will acquire the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Empiric Student Property for £634 million, offering 0.085 new Unite shares and 32 pence in cash per Empiric share.

  • The transaction values each Empiric share at approximately 94.2 pence based on Unite’s latest closing price, excluding certain dividends, and is expected to complete by Q2 2026 subject to approvals.

  • Following completion, Empiric shareholders will own around 10% of the enlarged group, which will hold a combined £10.5 billion student accommodation portfolio across the UK’s universities.

The Unite Group PLC (LSE:UTG) and Empiric Student Property plc have agreed on the terms of a recommended acquisition in which Unite will acquire all issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of Empiric. The acquisition will be implemented by a court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement under Part 26 of the Companies Act.

Under the offer terms, each Empiric shareholder will receive 0.085 new Unite shares and 32 pence in cash per share. Based on Unite’s closing price of 732.0 pence as at the latest practicable date, this values each Empiric share at approximately 94.2 pence and Empiric’s issued and to be issued share capital at about £634 million. These valuations exclude Empiric’s Q2, Q3 and Q4 2025 dividends, which will be paid to shareholders before the effective date.

Using Unite’s share price of 855.5 pence as at 4 June 2025, the last business day before the start of the offer period, and including the 2025 dividends, the total transaction value is approximately £723 million, or 107.5 pence per Empiric share. This represents premiums of around 10% to Empiric’s closing price on that date, 22% to its three-month volume-weighted average price, and 24% to its six-month volume-weighted average price.

On completion, Empiric shareholders will hold about 10% of the enlarged group’s issued share capital, with Unite shareholders holding the remaining 90%. The combined group will have a £10.5 billion portfolio (Unite’s share £7.4 billion) comprising approximately 75,000 beds, 92% of which will be located in Russell Group university cities.

The acquisition is expected to deliver £13.7 million in annual cost synergies through integration of Empiric’s operations into Unite’s platform. Empiric’s portfolio will also expand Unite’s offering in the “returner” student segment, which currently accounts for about 11% of the enlarged group’s portfolio value, with potential to increase to 15–20% through conversions and future acquisitions.

The Empiric board, advised by Peel Hunt and Jefferies, considers the terms fair and reasonable and will unanimously recommend that shareholders vote in favour of the scheme.

The acquisition is subject to shareholder approvals at both companies, clearance from the UK Competition and Markets Authority, and court sanction. The scheme document, containing full details and the expected timetable, is to be sent to Empiric shareholders within 28 days. Subject to conditions, the transaction is expected to become effective in the second quarter of 2026.