our university relationships, we aim to secure one new university partnership per year from our pipeline of active opportunities, including new development and stock transfer. • Deploy capital at the best risk-adjusted returns – An increased rate of disposals and lower development capex will see the Group move from net investor to net seller, generating £100-200 million p.a. of surplus capital. We will allocate capital to the opportunities offering the strongest risk-adjusted returns, which are currently expected to be new university partnerships and share buybacks while maintaining the strength of our balance sheet. Progress since our investor event We have made good early progress in delivering against our priorities since our investor event in November. Before the year end, we implemented a c.20% reduction in our central staff costs and have increased our annual cost synergy target for Empiric to £17 million. Since December, we have formed our two university joint ventures with Newcastle University and Manchester Metropolitan University, which will see us deliver 4,300 new beds on-campus between 2028 and 2030. In January, we launched a £100 million share buyback programme to return surplus capital to shareholders. This was funded through reduced off-campus development activity, having chosen to defer delivery of our Freestone Island project in Bristol and exit our TP Paddington development in London. The acquisition of Empiric’s high-quality 7,700-bed portfolio completed towards the end of January 2026. The portfolio is 81% aligned to high-tariff universities, overlapping with our portfolio in 15 cities, and broadens our product offer for returning students. We are also today announcing the disposal of St Pancras Way in London to USAF for £186 million (Unite share: £126 million), which forms part of the Group’s target to accelerate disposals to £300-400 million p.a. (Unite share). ACQUISITION OF EMPIRIC STUDENT PROPERTY The acquisition of Empiric, which completed following the year end, brings a high-quality 7,700-bed PBSA portfolio enables us to better meet the needs of the attractive Returner student segment. The acquisition delivers a significant increase in Unite’s addressable market, enabling the Group to attract and retain more students throughout their academic journey including the c.35,000 first-year students currently living with Unite. Returning students want a more independent experience, living in smaller groups and with a less institutional feel, which Empiric’s portfolio offers through the Hello Student brand. For the 2025/26 academic year, sales performance has been weaker than expected, with occupancy at 89% and rental growth of 4.5%. We are now just over three weeks post- completion and our priority is enhancing Empiric’s commercial performance, with our central commercial team and local teams engaged with Empiric to support sales. We are moving at pace to open our sales channels to Empiric properties, including our significantly larger international agent network and China sales office, in advance of full integration later this year which will benefit the 2027/28 sales cycle. We continue to see significant potential in the business, which we are well placed to unlock through our quality university relationships, best-in-class technology platform. We are also confident in our ability to deliver cost synergies from the acquisition and have validated many of our pre- acquisition assumptions, which support and increase to our annual synergy target to £17 million from 2027. MORE SUPPORTIVE GOVERNMENT POLICY FOR HIGHER EDUCATION Higher Education (HE) contributes over £250 billion to the UK economy, creates new opportunities and life experiences for young people, and provides global influence through the soft power of education. The International Education Strategy published in January 2026 details ambitious plans to increase the UK HE sector’s international standing, grow international recruitment and the value of education exports by 20% over the next five years. The HE sector also plays a key part in increasing skill levels in support of the Government’s mission to kickstart economic growth. The Government has increased UK tuition fees for the 2025/26 academic year by 3.1% and confirmed it intends to increase tuition fees for each of the next two academic years by around 2.75%. Government policy is increasingly supportive of international students with the new International Education Strategy targeting a c.25% growth in the export value of UK education by 2030. The UK’s recent return to the Erasmus+ programme will also strengthen ties with the European Union. We expect these measures to improve the global competitiveness of UK universities at a time when a number of competing global destinations are increasing restrictions on international student numbers. Universities are long-standing and adaptable institutions, and many are making changes to their cost bases to improve their financial sustainability. We expect these financial conditions to create new partnership opportunities with universities as they seek to deliver cost efficiencies and release funding for reinvestment into their academic programmes. CURRENT TRADING Student numbers UCAS undergraduate data for the 2026/27 academic year shows 5% growth in UK 18-year-old applicants, our key customer demographic. Student demand remains strongest for the high-tariff universities to which we have aligned our portfolio, where applicants are up by 6%. International undergraduate applicants are 5% up for 2026/27, with 10% growth from China. As expected, there has been a further modest increase in students intending to live at home, increasing 1ppt to 28% of applications from UK school leavers. Given growth in overall applications, we expect c.3% growth in the undergraduate intake living away from home this September. THE UNITE GROUP PLC Annual Report and Accounts 2025 19