BOARD LEADERSHIP AND PURPOSE continued HOW THE BOARD OPERATES AND STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT The Board meets eight times per year with an agenda of items for the forthcoming year built around our strategic objectives. The Board’s meetings are split between strategy (considered in light of principal and emerging risks, opportunities and the approval of specific investments and disposals above certain thresholds, as well as ESG and longer-term sustainability) and routine operational, property and financial updates (providing context for the strategic discussions as well as governance oversight of in-year activity). Meetings are held in person with the flexibility of hybrid meetings to allow for increased participation from across the business, including senior leaders who regularly attend meetings and present to the Board. These meetings provide the Board, and in particular the Non-Executive Directors, with direct and open access to leaders throughout the Group and helps build a culture of openness and directness. In addition, subject matter experts are also invited to present to the Board to give the Directors a broader and independent perspective and to increase knowledge and development. During the year, the Board also visited a number of operational cities throughout the UK, meeting our people and learning about their experience and the culture at Unite Students. WORKFORCE ENGAGEMENT AND THE ROLE OF OUR DESIGNATED NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR The Board has designated one of its Non-Executive Directors (Angela Jain) to help ensure the views and concerns of the workforce are brought to the Board and taken into account following the framework of listen, reflect and represent. With Angela’s young person-focused media experience, she is in touch with the needs, wants and behaviours of young people and brings a detailed understanding of the current challenges faced by employees. Her role includes: • attending the Culture Matters forum to understand concerns and share these with the Board, so appropriate steps are taken to evaluate the impact on the workforce of proposals and developments • monitoring employee engagement surveys and actions • soliciting employee views on remuneration structures and processes • collaborating with our Group People Director, the Head of People Development & Experience and the wider People team. This chosen engagement mechanism continues to be the subject of feedback from the workforce in determining that it is an appropriate and effective mechanism for engagement and is included in the annual agenda of the Culture Matters forum. Workforce engagement continues to shape the Board’s decision- making which primarily focused on engagement & belonging, safety & wellbeing and career opportunities during 2025. Our engagement resulted in the following: • Renewed our gender and ethnicity targets and the creation of a new belonging framework which will be rolled out in 2026 • Expanded investment in leadership and training programmes for employees, with 39,314 training hours logged in 2025 • Increased investment in technology to enhance employee experience and foster a culture that drives performance • Continued support for our five Employee Networks: Unite Women; Race, Ethnicity and Cultural Heritage; Disability and Neurodiversity; Keeping US Well and Unite LGBTQ • Improved our employee benefits offering from 2026. The Board, through the detailed work of the Remuneration Committee, also monitors pay and practices across the wider workforce with the Group People Director attending these meetings to update on workforce initiatives and offer an employee perspective to the Committee’s deliberations. See more on page 113. The Board also considers diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging and wellbeing across the workforce, by considering (among other things) our gender and ethnic diversity throughout the Group as well as our gender pay gap. How we engage with our investors The Board values effective communication with shareholders and other providers of capital to the business and welcomes their views on the Group’s approach to corporate governance. The Board creates sustainable value for our three types of investors: institutional, retail and debt investors. THE UNITE GROUP PLC Annual Report and Accounts 2025 86 GOVERNANCE