Unite sells academy school at newly completed Hawthorne House development

23rd Oct 2026 09:02

(Sharecast News) - Student accommodation provider Unite Group said on Friday that it has exchanged contracts to sell the academy school at its newly completed Hawthorne House development in London for £40.7m, as part of its strategy to release value from non‑purpose built student accommodation assets.

Unite will retain ownership of the 719‑bed student accommodation element, which was fully let for the 2026/27 academic year and supported by a long‑term nomination agreement with the University of the Arts London for more than half the beds.

The disposal, priced at a 4.9% yield and representing a 2% discount to the asset's June 2026 book value, was expected to complete shortly.

The FTSE 250-listed firm said the academy school formed part of the £225m of assets under offer highlighted in its Q3 trading update, with proceeds initially earmarked for reducing leverage.

Chief executive Joe Lister said: "The sale of the academy school at Hawthorne House is evidence of our capital discipline and proactive capital recycling programme. We are moving at pace to further increase our alignment to the UK's strongest universities and remain on track to deliver £300m to £400m of disposals this year."

As of 0900 BST, Unite shares were up 0.13% at 454.60p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

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