BOARD LEADERSHIP AND PURPOSE The Board is responsible for establishing the Company’s purpose, strategy and values, promoting its culture, overseeing its conduct and affairs, for promoting the long-term sustainable success and generating value for shareholders and contributing to wider society. OUR PURPOSE – HOME FOR SUCCESS The Board has defined our common purpose. Our purpose also describes our shared commitment, motivation and contribution to the delivery of our strategic objectives, informing the development of our business model and strategy, operating practices, approach to risk and how we engage with our stakeholders. The Board oversees our service proposition and how we provide a Great Place to Live, which is safe and enables students to thrive. Our operating model provides 24/7 round-the-clock support, 365 days a year across all our properties. Our student assistance programme offers 24/7 access to our Student Wellbeing Helpline, a counsellor-led triage service providing in-the-moment support. Our purpose informed the Board’s commitment for the Group to remain a Real Living Wage employer during 2025. The Board also supported the continued commitment to the Unite Foundation and care leavers, becoming the first purpose-built-student accommodation provider to sign the UK Government-backed Care Leaver Covenant, to help widen access and participation in Higher Education. This further emphasises our commitment to our values and undertaking to make a positive impact for students and young people. Home for Success is also about ensuring we are the right partner for our university partners. As a trusted member of the Higher Education community, we support our university partners to build a brighter future for students everywhere. Our nomination agreements with universities cover over half of our beds for the 2025/26 academic year and it is through our longstanding relationships that we have been able to secure multi-year agreements and support additional demand. During 2025, we also agreed a new joint venture with Newcastle University to redevelop their Castle Leazes site. We regularly engage with our university partners to understand their long- term aspirations, accommodation requirements and evolving expectations around student welfare. This means our offer is built around the priorities of students and universities alike. By placing people at the heart of our business, the Board’s focus on creating a Home for Success is also about ensuring a Great Place to Work. This means an environment where our employees can grow, develop, succeed and belong. The Board is driven by our commitment to develop diverse and inclusive teams, filled with support, positive energy and new ideas. Our values-led culture offers growth, inspires consistent delivery and collaboration with a range of career opportunities available to all. We remain focused on ongoing investment in leadership and technology to enhance the employee experience and foster a culture that drives performance. We remain committed to being an employer of choice. The Board has ultimate responsibility to shareholders for all the Group’s activities as well as a broader responsibility to consider the views of other key stakeholders including our customers, universities, employees and the communities we operate in, as well as considering environmental and social issues when making decisions. OUR VALUES, PEOPLE AND CULTURE Through the Board’s oversight, during 2025 we continued to embed our refreshed values: Challenge the Ordinary, Lead with Heart, Unite as One and Stay on Point. These values guide us in delivering our Home for Success purpose. Our values connect us and help shape our culture, empowering our people to create a positive impact and build a strong culture that drives long-term success. This goes beyond regulatory compliance and relates to all aspects of the business including the impact on our people and communities. Through our Culture Matters employee forum, our employees’ voice remains front and centre, ensuring dialogue between the Board and the wider business. The relationships built within the forum have allowed for meaningful and open conversations as well as direct actions taken to contribute to creating a Home for Success. During the year, Angela Jain, our Non-Executive Director for Workforce Engagement, attended forum meetings where she demonstrated the commitment of the Board through supportive and informative dialogue. Feedback provided to the Board helps to inform its decision-making such as how we develop a more diverse workforce (more details on Angela’s role and activities during 2025 can be found on page 86). THE UNITE GROUP PLC Annual Report and Accounts 2025 83