TIDMUTG
RNS Number : 2881Q
Unite Group PLC
17 October 2019
17 October 2019
THE UNITE GROUP PLC
NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR BOARD CHANGES
The Unite Group plc announces that as part of its Board
succession planning:
-- Dame Shirley Pearce DBE will join the Board as a Non-Executive Director on 1 November 2019;
-- Professor Sir Steve Smith will join the Board as a
Non-Executive Director on 1 April 2020; and
-- Sir Tim Wilson, Non-Executive Director and Chair of the
Health & Safety Committee, is stepping down from the Board
effective 31 December 2019 after serving nine years.
Dame Shirley has held Chair, Senior Executive and Non-Executive
roles at board level in higher education, health and policing. She
was appointed by the Secretary of State for Education as the
Independent Reviewer of the Teaching Excellence and Student
Outcomes Framework (TEF)(completed in October 2019) and is a member
of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, a member of the
Advisory Board of HCA Healthcare UK and, until 31 December 2019,
Chair of Court at the London School of Economics and Political
Science (LSE).
Dame Shirley was also Vice-Chancellor and President of
Loughborough University from 2006-2012. She was appointed CBE in
2005 for services to education in the NHS and in 2014 appointed DBE
for services to Higher Education.
Professor Sir Steve Smith brings with him a wealth of experience
in the Higher Education sector. He is currently the Vice-Chancellor
and Chief Executive of the University of Exeter, a position he has
held since 2002 and is stepping down from in August 2020. Sir Steve
was the Chair of UCAS between 2012 and 2019 and serves on the
Boards of Universities UK (UUK) and the Russell Group. Among other
roles he is also Chair of UUK International Policy Network.
Between 2007 and 2010, Sir Steve led for higher education on the
Prime Minister's National Council of Excellence in Education, which
provided advice to Government about strategy and measures to
achieve world-class education performance for all children and
young people. Sir Steve was knighted in 2011 for services to higher
education locally and nationally.
These two appointments are in addition to the previously
announced appointment of Tom Jackson, head of CPPIB's UK real
estate business, as Non-Executive Director as part of Unite's
proposed acquisition of Liberty Living.
Phil White, Chairman of Unite, commented:
"It has been my great pleasure to work with Tim over the last
nine years. His insight, expertise and hands-on experience of the
Higher Education sector has been invaluable to the Board and our
wider business. I would like to thank him for his contribution to
Unite and we wish him the very best for the future.
I'm delighted to welcome Shirley and Steve to the Board as
Non-Executive Directors. They are both leading figures who have
been recognised at the highest level for their achievements and
services to higher education. Their appointments reflect the
importance of our partnerships with the higher education sector and
I look forward to working with them at this exciting time for
Unite."
No further information is required to be disclosed pursuant to
Listing Rule 9.6.13R.
- ENDS -
For further information, please contact:
Unite Students
Joe Lister, Chief Financial Officer Tel: +44 117 302
Candice Macdonald, Head of Communications 7005
Tel: +44 7525 592
Powerscourt 521
Justin Griffiths
Victoria Heslop Tel: +44 20 7250
1446
About Unite Students
Unite Students is the UK's largest manager and developer of
purpose-built student accommodation serving the country's
world-leading higher education sector. We currently provide homes
for almost 50,000 students in circa 130 properties across 22
leading university towns and cities in England and Scotland. Unite
also has a strong development pipeline, which will deliver more
than 6,000 beds in the next three years.
Our 1,400 people are driven by a common purpose: to provide the
students who live with us a 'Home for Success' and to be the most
trusted brand in the sector. We do this through quality service,
quality people and quality properties, all designed on the basis of
an unrivalled insight into students' needs and preferences.
Unite's accommodation is high quality, safe and secure, and
located close to university campuses, transport links and local
amenities. Students live predominantly in en-suite study bedrooms
with rents covering all bills, insurance, 24-hour security,
fortnightly cleaning services and high-speed Wi-Fi. MyUnite, our
mobile app, provides practical support such as instant messaging
and maintenance requests.
Our commitment to customer service is powered by an innovative,
in-house operating platform. It provides a wide range of benefits
to our students, such as an optimised online booking process, as
well as providing us with a unique ability to drive value from our
portfolio through scale efficiencies and revenue management.
Alongside delivering quality service, our other strategic
priority is delivering growing and sustainable earnings,
underpinned by a strong capital structure. A key part of this
strategy is growing the number of beds let though partnerships with
mid and high tariff universities which are experiencing record
levels of student demand. We currently partner with 60 higher
education institutions, guaranteeing that approximately 60% of our
rooms are let under multi-year, 'nomination agreements' providing
high visibility of forward occupancy and rental growth.
Unite is invested in and operates two specialist funds and joint
ventures with institutional investment partners: the GBP2 billion
Unite UK Student Accommodation Fund (USAF), and the GBP1 billion
London Student Accommodation Vehicle (LSAV).
Unite is the founder of and major donor to the Unite Foundation,
a charitable trust established to support talented students facing
challenging financial circumstances through the provision of free
accommodation annual scholarships. The Foundation has so far
provided scholarships for 250 young people working in close
collaboration with 28 universities.
Founded in 1991 in Bristol, Unite Group is an award-winning Real
Estate Investment Trust (REIT), listed on the London Stock Exchange
and a member of the FTSE 250 Index.
For more information, please visit Unite's corporate website
www.unite-group.co.uk, the student site www.unite-students.com or
the Unite Foundation www.unitefoundation.co.uk
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END
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