Student housing firm Unite makes £102m Wembley signing

Student digs builder Unite on Tuesday forked out £102 million to create homes for hundreds of freshers in Wembley, in a major vote of confidence that London will remain a top education destination.

The FTSE 250 property developer has bought a site next to Wembley stadium, where there is planning consent for 678 beds. It expects to complete construction by 2020.

Richard Smith, Unite’s chief executive, said: “London is a hugely attractive city for students, and that is always going to remain so.”

His confidence to invest comes despite some industry concerns that Brexit could hit funding for research and exchange programmes, which could result in fewer high-spending foreign pupils coming to the UK.

The bullish boss said that London has a shortage of accommodation for students which his company wants to capitalise on.

Unite, which has 52,000 beds in 24 cities, saw pre-tax profits jump 70% to £142.5 million in the six months to June 30. It benefited from rental income increasing to £101.9 million from £92.4 million.

The firm is upping the dividend by 30% to 9.5p.