International postgraduate demand has reduced in the past two years following changes in visa policies and increased competition from alternative study destinations, despite the strength of the UK’s HE offering. We expect universities to respond by increasing recruitment of international undergraduates to mitigate reduced postgraduate demand. Letting progress Across the Group’s portfolio (excluding Empiric), 68% of rooms are now sold for the 2026/27 academic year (2025/26: 71%). We expect the booking trends experienced in the 2025/26 sales cycle to continue for 2026/27, with more students choosing to book later and accommodation demand increasingly concentrated at the strongest universities. Nomination agreements account for 55% of beds for 2026/27 (2025/26: 59%), with some, predominantly low-tariff universities choosing not to renew or holding off committing to new agreements as they look to balance security of accommodation for their students with their financial commitment to beds early in the cycle. Engagement with university partners has been positive in recent weeks, reflecting strong undergraduate applications, and we typically secure further nomination agreements through the remainder of the sales cycle. Encouragingly, direct-let sales in recent weeks have been ahead of last year with pricing adjustments helping to stimulate sales in those markets with lower occupancy in 2025/26.] In keeping with last year, we are seeing students delay their purchasing decisions, following discounting and increased use of incentives by our competitors late in the past two sales cycles. Like-for-like rental growth on rooms sold to date is 2.4% with growth through nomination agreements offsetting the impact of modest price reductions on direct-let sales. 2026/27 income guidance Based on our current rate of sale and future nominations pipeline, we expect to deliver occupancy and rental growth towards the lower end of our guidance ranges for 93-96% and 2-3% respectively for the 2026/27 academic year. This translates to like-for-like income growth of 0.2% (previously 0-4%). Across the Empiric portfolio, 22% of rooms are now sold for the 2026/27 academic year. The slower sales performance reflects a delayed start to the sales cyle following a technology upgrade and the more cautious leasing behaviour seen in the Unite portfolio. Based on our initial assessment, we anticipate Empiric’s letting performance to be in line with our direct-let portfolio for the 2026/27 acadmic year. The full benefit of our sales platform to Empiric will be realised for the 2027/28 sales cycle. Earnings guidance We expect to deliver adjusted EPS of 41.5-43.0p in 2026 (2025: 47.5p), principally reflecting the impact of lower Empiric income and occupancy. Empiric’s lower than expected income for 2025/26 will impact performance in 2026, particularly in H1, resulting in a c.1.0-1.5p reduction in adjusted EPS net of initial cost synergies. Thereafter, we expect an improvement in Empiric’s income performance as we integrate it into our platform and realise the full benefit of cost synergies from 2027. Outlook Demand for UK Higher Education remains strong, underpinned by growing domestic demand and increasing mobility of international students. Together with constrained housing supply, this supports sustainable growth in our rents and earnings over the long term. There is greatest demand and most enduring appeal for the residential experience at the UK’s strongest universities and our strategy is focused on increasing our alignment to these universities. We are uniquely positioned to meet university needs thanks to our best- in-class operating platform, providing the opportunity to grow and extend our already strong partnerships. We have made early progress in delivery of the strategic plan set out at the end of 2025, focusing on our priorities of operational excellence and optimal capital allocation. We will build on this momentum during 2026 as we also begin to realise value from our acquisition of Empiric. Delivering on these priorities provides a strong platform for 2027 and beyond. CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REVIEW continued THE UNITE GROUP PLC Annual Report and Accounts 2025 22 STRATEGIC REPORT