Unite seeks London bargains

25th Aug 2009 08:25

Student accommodation firm Unite is looking to buy up development sites in London at 'attractive' prices and has scrapped the interim dividend to save cash.The firm lost £29.4m before tax during the six months to 30 June, up from £11.5m a year ago, although recurring profit grew to £3.5m from a loss of £2.9m in 2008.Adjusted fully diluted net asset value was down 12% to 286p from 325p at the end of 2008.'Looking to the future, clear opportunities are beginning to emerge to acquire development sites at attractive prices, particularly in our major market, London,' said chief executive Mark Allan.'We have continued to track potential sites closely over the past year and believe that, owing to the pronounced ongoing supply-demand imbalance, there is a clear opportunity to deliver accommodation in the Capital at or above 2009 volumes at very attractive returns from 2012 onwards.'The company said it is on track to beat its 2009 asset disposal target of £150m, having completed or exchanged on £136m of sales so far this year.