PERFORMANCE REVIEW Operations review continued participation rates. We are also seeing a more stable policy environment for international recruitment following publication of the Government’s new International Education Strategy. Strongest universities taking market share Overall, the undergraduate intake for 2025/26 increased by 2% to 578,000 (2024/25: 565,000), with a record number of UK 18-year-olds starting courses. We have been deliberate in aligning our portfolio to high- and medium-tariff universities, where the number of accepted applicants grew by 7% and 2% respectively for the 2025/26 academic year. In contrast, lower-tariff universities saw a 2% reduction in acceptances, marking an acceleration of the trend of the past decade where higher-tariff universities have captured a growing share of student demand. In response to this trend, our investment activity aims to increase our portfolio's weighting to high-tariff universities from 67% currently to 80% over the medium-term. International demand broadly stable Recruitment of international students stabilised in 2025 after the 14% fall in student visa issuance in 2024 following visa policy changes and a review of the Graduate Route. The proportion of our 2025/26 customers from outside the UK was stable at 28% (2024/25: 28%), with more bookings from international undergraduates offsetting fewer bookings from Chinese postgraduates. Recent data indicates broadly stable international student numbers, with 5% growth in international applicants through UCAS for the 2026/27 academic year balanced by fewer study visa applications in recent months. Students seeking value from university Students are increasingly selective when choosing where to study, with a growing focus on graduate outcomes and earnings potential as they seek to ensure they achieve value for money from their time at university. This is supported by data showing that the average Russell Group student enjoys a c.£350,000 lifetime earnings premium over a non-graduate, with the premium reducing materially for lower-ranked courses. The highest-quality universities continue to see healthy accommodation demand as the enduring appeal of the UK’s top universities attracts students from around the world. At lower-tariff providers, an increasing proportion of students are choosing to live at home as an alternative to the traditional residential experience. At these universities, around half of students now choose to live at home to reduce the overall cost of university, compared to only 15% at high-tarrif providers. New supply impacting some cities New supply is taking longer to reach stabilised occupancy in a more competitive leasing market, with our new openings in 2025 65% occupied on completion. These new deliveries accounted for around a third of the increase in vacancy within our portfolio in 2025/26. It is typical to see a period of lower occupancy and rental growth while a city adjusts to an increase in new supply, with Nottingham particularly impacted in 2025. We expect a reduction in new supply over the coming years as viability remains challenging for new development, reducing the impact of new openings outside of the strongest cities. Continuing demand from universities We have maintained a high proportion of income let to universities, with 37,660 beds (59% of total) provided under nomination agreements for 2025/26 (2024/25: 38,326 and 57%). The increase in the percentage of beds under nomination agreements reflects universities’ growing reliance on private providers to meet their accommodation needs and our position as the partner of choice. We saw further improvement in our University Trust Score to +81 (2024: +80), recognising the strength of our partnerships, sector-leading student welfare offer, and thought leadership in the sector. The unexpired term of our nomination agreements increased to 6.1 years for 2025/26 (2024/25: 5.8 years) reflecting the strength of our relationships and universities’ willingness to commit to high-quality accommodation. A balance of nomination agreements and direct-let beds provides the benefit of having income secured by universities, as well as the ability to offer rooms to re-bookers and postgraduates and determine market pricing on an annual basis. We are targeting an increase in beds under nomination agreements to 60% going forward, aided by our university joint ventures and new developments as well as planned disposals. 83% of our nomination agreements, by income, are multi-year and therefore benefit from annual fixed or inflation-linked uplifts based on RPI or CPI (2024/25: 67%). The remaining agreements are single year, and we achieved a renewal rate of 77% with universities for 2025/26 where we sought to renew (2024/25: 81%). THE UNITE GROUP PLC Annual Report and Accounts 2025 24 STRATEGIC REPORT