Unite Group is to take over Empiric Student Property after agreeing on a cash and shares offer valuing Empiric, the listed purpose-built student accommodation operator, at £723M.

Completion of the deal would result in a £10.5B combined portfolio amounting to circa 75,000 beds, 92% of them located within Russell Group university cities.

Empiric's portfolio comprises 7,685 beds across 75 assets in 23 cities. Its biggest concentrations are in the north of England and the south-west.

The price Unite is paying represents a 10% premium to Empiric's share price before a potential takeover was announced but a 22% discount to Empiric's net asset value.

Empiric shareholders will hold approximately 10% of the issued share capital of the group, with existing Unite shareholders holding 90%.

Unite said that Empiric’s “differentiated customer proposition” will enable it to appeal to a broader customer base “at pace and at scale,” and at a discount to estimated replacement cost, through increased exposure to “returner” students, or non-first-year undergraduates and postgraduate students.

This market segment would start from an existing platform that represents around 11% of the enlarged group’s portfolio value, which could expand to 15% to 20% through conversions and acquisitions over time, the company said, managed through its Hello Student operational brand.

“Unite has identified Empiric’s differentiated proposition through its Hello Student brand, as well as its focus on returner and post graduate students, as clear strategic pillars through which to grow its business,” Empiric Chair Mark Pain said in a statement.

To hear more about the dynamic PBSA market, Bisnow's UK Living Series: Student Accommodation Summit 2025 takes place on 9 October in London.