Latest news with #UniteGroup
Times
08-07-2025
- Business
- Times
Unite's room reservations fall further as costs rise for students
Britain's biggest student landlord is enduring its slowest start to a year in terms of bookings, excluding the pandemic period, for more than a decade. Unite Group, which rents out 68,000 rooms to students around the country, has found tenants for 85 per cent of those rooms already, ahead of the upcoming academic year, which begins in September. That compares with 94 per cent at this stage last year, which was down on the 98 per cent of reservations Unite had secured by early July 2023. Excluding 2020 and 2021, when courses were moved online during the pandemic, not since 2014 has Unite had so many available rooms with two months to go until the new academic year. There are still en suite rooms available in Bristol starting at £239 a week, while in London, Unite has some one-bed flats left next to Euston station for £695 a week.
Business Insider
05-07-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Unite Group plc (UTG) Gets a Sell from Kepler Capital
Kepler Capital analyst Julian Livingston-Booth maintained a Sell rating on Unite Group plc on July 3 and set a price target of p820.00. The company's shares closed yesterday at p815.50. Don't Miss TipRanks' Half-Year Sale Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. Make smarter investment decisions with TipRanks' Smart Investor Picks, delivered to your inbox every week. According to TipRanks, Livingston-Booth is a 4-star analyst with an average return of 3.4% and a 56.03% success rate. Livingston-Booth covers the Real Estate sector, focusing on stocks such as Tritax Big Box REIT, British Land Company plc, and Land Securities Group plc REIT. The word on The Street in general, suggests a Moderate Buy analyst consensus rating for Unite Group plc with a p1,035.00 average price target.
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The FTSE 100 may be soaring, but these two trusts still look heavily undervalued
The FTSE 100 is trading just shy of its all-time high of 8,885 points reached on 10 June 2025. Investors have finally started returning to the UK market after years of underperformance, driven by stabilising interest rates, undervalued blue chips, and strong earnings in cyclical sectors. Housebuilders have been leading the charge as mortgage rates cool, while precious metals stocks continue to benefit from safe-haven demand. However, not every part of the market has caught up with this momentum. In particular, some investment trusts and closed-end funds (CEFs) remain significantly undervalued, despite holding high-quality assets. Trusts trade like shares but can often lag behind market movements due to their pricing structure — they're based on demand for the fund, not just the value of its holdings. That can create buying opportunities when sentiment is slow to catch up to fundamentals. Two such trusts that currently look like bargains to me are Polar Capital Technology Trust (LSE: PCT) and Unite Group (LSE: UTG). This tech-focused trust gives UK investors rare access to a portfolio packed with high-growth US tech stocks. Despite delivering a staggering 474% return over the past decade — equivalent to nearly 19% annualised growth — it still looks cheap by several key metrics. Its return on equity (ROE) stands at an impressive 33%, showcasing how effectively the trust deploys capital. Meanwhile, its price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of just 3.38 is unusually low for a tech-focused fund, even if it reflects recent weakness in the US tech market. The price-to-book (P/B) ratio of 0.96 suggests the shares are trading close to net asset value, offering investors solid exposure without overpaying. That said, the recent subdued performance of US large-cap tech — particularly the 'Magnificent Seven' — has weighed on short-term returns. If the US market continues to stall, the trust could remain in limbo for a while longer. But for long-term investors willing to ride out the volatility, the trust's low valuation and track record make a compelling case that's worth considering. I covered Unite Group back in May and I still think it's a stock worth considering. As the UK's leading provider of purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA), it's in a sector with stable demand, strong pricing power, and limited supply. It operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT), focusing on long-term capital appreciation and income. Please note that tax treatment depends on the individual circumstances of each client and may be subject to change in future. The content in this article is provided for information purposes only. It is not intended to be, neither does it constitute, any form of tax advice. Its 4.4% dividend yield is supported by a very low payout ratio of 38%, giving it room to grow. In fact, dividends have increased by an average of 5.37% annually, underlining its passive income appeal. Of course, any slowdown in student demand or regulatory change to rental laws could pose risks. REITs are also highly sensitive to interest rates, which have improved lately — but we're not in the clear yet. That said, with limited university housing available and growing international student numbers, the outlook remains positive. What really stands out is the underlying efficiency. Unite has a P/E ratio of just 8.77, a P/E-to-growth (PEG) ratio of 0.03 (suggesting rapid growth relative to price), and an operating margin of 55%. Even more impressive, its free cash flow margin is 74.8%, meaning it retains nearly 75p of every £1 of revenue as cash. The post The FTSE 100 may be soaring, but these two trusts still look heavily undervalued appeared first on The Motley Fool UK. More reading 5 Stocks For Trying To Build Wealth After 50 One Top Growth Stock from the Motley Fool Mark Hartley has no position in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has no position in any of the shares mentioned. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. Motley Fool UK 2025
Business Insider
07-06-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Kepler Capital Keeps Their Sell Rating on Unite Group plc (UTG)
In a report released on June 5, Julian Livingston-Booth from Kepler Capital maintained a Sell rating on Unite Group plc (UTG – Research Report), with a price target of p820.00. The company's shares closed yesterday at p840.00. Confident Investing Starts Here: Easily unpack a company's performance with TipRanks' new KPI Data for smart investment decisions Receive undervalued, market resilient stocks right to your inbox with TipRanks' Smart Value Newsletter According to TipRanks, Livingston-Booth is a 4-star analyst with an average return of 3.5% and a 57.14% success rate. Livingston-Booth covers the Real Estate sector, focusing on stocks such as British Land Company plc, Land Securities Group plc REIT, and LondonMetric Property. Unite Group plc has an analyst consensus of Moderate Buy, with a price target consensus of p1,033.83.
Time of India
06-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
UK's Unite Group bids $976 million for Empiric Student Property
BENGALURU: British student accommodation developer Unite Group has proposed to buy smaller rival Empiric Student Property for about 719 million pounds ($976 million), the companies said on Thursday, the latest in a string of deal-making in the UK. Under the possible offer, shareholders of real estate investment trust Empiric would receive 30 pence in cash and 0.09 new Unite shares for each Empiric share held, for an implied value of 107 pence per share, the groups said. The potential transaction could add to a growing list of deals in the UK and within the country's REIT industry. Warehouse REIT agreed on Wednesday to sell itself, LondonMetric said in May it would buy Urban Logistics, while a host of American companies have also bid for British firms in recent weeks. Shares of Empiric, which focuses on premium, direct-let student accommodation in university towns and cities in the UK, surged to an eight-year high on Thursday, closing up 6.1% at 103.2 pence, but were still below the offer price. Meanwhile, Unite closed down 2.2% at 837 pence. The company said its proposal, a sweetened offer following its first approach in early May, also allows Empiric shareholders to retain a declared interim dividend of 0.925 pence per share for the quarter ended March 31. Empiric said the companies have entered a due diligence period. Under UK takeover rules, Unite has until July 3 to make a firm offer for Empiric or walk away. Unite said the potential acquisition would offer the combined group scale and enhance its appeal to students, particularly in those coming back and in those in postgraduate courses. "The addition of Empiric's high quality, complementary portfolio would create a combined group with enhanced scale and growth aligned to the UK's strongest universities," it said. Unite also divested properties worth 212 million pounds earlier in the day. It has accommodation around universities including University of Liverpool and Birmingham City University, while Empiric has facilities for the University of Glasgow and University of Edinburgh among others.
