Terms have been agreed on a cash and shares offer valuing the smaller PBSA operator at £723m. Combined, the two firms operate more than 12,000 North West bedspaces.
Immediately following completion of the deal – expected to be in Q2 2026 once the necessary approvals are secured – Empiric shareholders will hold approximately 10% of the issued share capital of the enlarged group, with existing Unite shareholders holding 90%.
Unite said that the acquisition of Empiric’s “high quality, complementary portfolio provides Unite with greater scale and enhanced growth opportunities aligned to the UK’s strongest universities”.
The firm added that Empiric’s differentiated customer proposition will enable Unite to appeal to a broader customer base “at pace and at scale” and at a discount to estimated replacement cost, through increased exposure to the attractive segment for “returner” students – non-first year undergraduates and postgraduate students – which is largely unaddressed by the conventional PBSA operated by itself.
Completion of the deal would result in a £10.5bn combined portfolio, of which Unite’s share would be £7.4bn, with around 75,000 beds, 92% of them located in Russell Group university cities.
The platform for expansion into the “returner” market segment would begin from an established platform that represents around 11% of the enlarged group’s portfolio value, which could expand to 15% to 20% through conversions and future acquisitions over time.
Having accommodation for returner students to move into has obvious appeal for Unite, which accommodates around 35,000 first-year students per academic year. The well-established Hello Student brand is tailored to the needs of this market segment.
Purely in terms of cost synergies, Unite said the deal will unlock £13.7m of savings.
Mark Pain, chair of Empiric, said: “Over the last few years, the Board and management of Empiric has implemented a successful transformation strategy, aligning the company’s portfolio to the best locations in the UK’s strongest university cities.
“Unite has identified Empiric’s differentiated proposition through its Hello Student brand, as well as its focus on returner and post graduate students, as clear strategic pillars through which to grow its business.
“The board of Empiric believes the firm and recommended offer from Unite is highly compelling for Empiric’s shareholders as it will deliver material accretion to earnings and dividends per share, deliver synergy benefits and provide superior access to capital to drive growth, whilst enabling shareholders to remain invested in a portfolio of highly attractive UK student accommodation assets.”
Richard Huntingford, chair of Unite said: “Acquiring Empiric’s high-quality and complementary portfolio accelerates our growth into the attractive returner student segment, enabling us to better serve students throughout their academic journey.
“Unite is uniquely positioned to unlock significant synergies and accelerate earnings growth for both sets of shareholders. Alongside university partnerships and our significant development pipeline, the acquisition provides a new growth driver to deliver enhanced scale and long-term value for shareholders.”
Empiric’s North West portfolio amounts to around 1,500 beds, its single largest region, and has been grown this year through the addition of Tatton House in Manchester, bought for £19.75m in January.
The Empiric regional portfolio amounts to three Lancaster holdings, six in Liverpool and three in Manchester. Consent has been established for a 310-bed extension at Victoria Point, Manchester.
Unite already boasts more than 5,300 student beds in Liverpool alone, across five sites. The operator also has around 5,600 bedspaces in Manchester.
A key current Unite project is a venture with Manchester Metropolitan University to deliver a density-seeking redevelopment that will see the 770-bed Cambridge Halls replaced by a 2,300-bed new-build. Floated early this year, plans were submitted in June.