Unite Group has submitted a bid to acquire Empiric Student Property.
In a statement, Unite confirmed that on 29 May 2025 it had submitted a revised non-binding proposal to acquire the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Empiric for 30p in cash and 0.09 new Unite shares per Empiric share.
The offer values each Empiric share at 107p and Empiric’s entire issued and to be issued share capital at approximately £719m. The offer represents a premium of approximately 10% to Empiric’s closing share price of 97.3p as of 4 June 2025.
Empiric has agreed to enter a period of due diligence following receipt of the offer.
Unite said the offer “represents an opportunity to increase its appeal to students for the duration of their academic journey in the UK, including in the returner and postgraduate segments. The addition of Empiric’s high quality, complementary portfolio would create a combined group with enhanced scale and growth aligned to the UK’s strongest universities”.
It added: “With the potential synergies that could be unlocked by Unite’s operating platform, the possible offer has the potential to deliver accretion to earnings and shareholder returns while maintaining balance sheet strength.”
