Our 2024 refurbishment projects We’re committed to providing high quality, affordable accommodation for our residents. In 2024, we completed 11 refurbishment projects, with 5,239 students benefiting from investment into their homes. £32 million was spent upgrading buildings from London to Glasgow, signalling the start of an ambitious refurbishment programme which will see Unite Students invest c.£50-75 million per year on refurbishments over the next five years. We’re already seeing results from this project. Our £1.5 million investment into a new reception area and renovated study and social areas at London’s Stapleton House has increased student satisfaction (NPS) in the building by 28 points year-on-year. At Rushford Court in Durham, we worked in partnership with Durham University to upgrade the 358-bed building, with the intention of it becoming the university’s 18th college in future. Case study STRATEGIC REPORT PERFORMANCE REVIEW Property review continued In the year, we delivered 11 refurbishment projects in strong markets alongside other building upgrades. Investment across the projects totalled £48 million (Unite share: £39 million) and delivered a 10% yield on cost through rental uplifts and operating cost savings. The projects delivered additional beds, upgraded existing rooms and enhanced the environmental performance of the properties. We have a significant pipeline of attractive asset management and building improvement opportunities and will accelerate investment to c.£65 million (Unite share: £45 million) during 2025, improving the experience of around 3,000 students for the 2025/26 academic year. Build-to-rent (BTR) We believe there is an opportunity to grow our platform in the wider living sector by catering to the growing number of young professional renters living in major UK cities. Our pilot BTR asset in Stratford has performed well and is integrated into our operating platform of 1,700 PBSA beds in the area. During the period, we committed to the planned refurbishment of our 180 Stratford pilot asset. The project will deliver new amenity space as well as a rolling refurbishment of the apartments over the next 24 months as units are vacated. Total costs are expected to be c.£15 million, delivering a yield on cost in line with PBSA returns. We continue to review BTR opportunities though do not expect to increase our capital commitment in the short term. FIRE SAFETY Fire safety is a critical part of our health and safety strategy, and we have a track record of leading the sector on fire safety standards through our proactive approach. During the period we completed fire safety improvements on seven properties across our estate and spent £76 million (Unite share: £31 million) on fire safety capex during the year. Our year-end balance sheet includes committed fire safety spend of £118 million (£62 million Unite share), the costs for which will be incurred over the next two years. Of this, £6 million (£5 million Unite share) is included in provisions and £112 million (£57 million Unite share) is deducted from the fair value of our investment properties. During the year, we reached agreement with contractors for recovery of £32 million of remediation costs (Unite share: £23 million) in relation to three properties. In total, we have now agreed settlements totalling £72 million (Unite share: £51 million). We expect to recover 50-75% of total cladding remediation costs through claims from contractors, although the settlement and recognition of these claims is likely to lag costs incurred to remediate properties. We anticipate the remediation programme to complete in 2028 with net spend higher in the earlier years of the programme and reducing substantially from 2026. THE UNITE GROUP PLC Annual Report and Accounts 2024 34