Disposal

Unite Group PLC
19 December 2005


Date:                 19 December 2005
On behalf of:         The UNITE Group plc
Embargoed until:      0700hrs

UNITE ANNOUNCES £64 MILLION SALE TO SAVILLS

The UNITE Group plc ('UNITE'), the UK's leading provider of student hospitality,
announces today that it has completed the sale to a wholly owned subsidiary of
Savills plc of 100% of the units in a recently established property unit trust
which owns a portfolio of three student accommodation buildings operated by
UNITE.  The total consideration receivable in cash on completion is £64.1
million, equating to a 5.22% net initial yield.

Under the terms of the transaction, UNITE will retain full responsibility for
the ongoing management of the buildings, as well as a share in the anticipated
net income remaining after management costs.  UNITE will retain approximately
23% of the gross rents in this regard after paying rent of £3.4 million per
annum to the fund under three long term FRI leases.

The properties, all purpose built in the past three years, are located in
Bournemouth, Bath and Portsmouth and provide an aggregate of 1,561 bed spaces,
representing around 5% of UNITE's completed portfolio. Two of the properties are
subject to long-term index-linked nominations agreements whereby the
Universities initially guarantee 90% of the rents receivable from students. The
third property is subject to a long-term lease with the University incorporating
fixed annual uplifts.  Following an independent valuation at 30 June 2005, the
properties had a net book value of £60 million.

UNITE will use the majority of the proceeds to repay borrowings, with the
remaining capital of approximately £17 million to be reinvested into the Group's
development activities in due course.

The unit trust, which was marketed by CB Richard Ellis Financial, has been
purchased by Savills in order to seed a fund to be launched early next year by
its fund management arm, Cordea Savills.  The Student Hall Fund has been
developed in response to institutional investor demand for funds that allow them
to invest in residential property offering both long leases and opportunities
for enhanced returns.

Commenting on the transaction, Mark Allan, Chief Financial Officer of UNITE,
said:

'UNITE continues to lead its market and the indirect sale of this portfolio to
Savills reflects the continued strong investment demand for well-located,
expertly-managed student accommodation.

The transaction underpins the strong capital growth in our portfolio reported at
the time of our interim statement and further builds our stream of third party
management revenues.  Together with the proceeds of our recent share placing,
the capital released from this transaction leaves UNITE well placed to
capitalise on the continuing opportunities for growth in our sector.'

Richard Lake, Director of UK Fund Management at Cordea Savills LLP said:

'We are extremely pleased that Savills has acquired this unit trust comprising
three high quality assets from UNITE.  The properties, which will form the seed
assets for the Cordea Savills Student Hall Fund, have minimum 20 year leases and
guaranteed RPI growth.  They are located in popular and established University
towns and match our requirement for seed property that creates a bedrock of
solid and secure income.'

ENDS


Enquiries:

The UNITE Group plc                                        Tel: [phone]
Mark Allan, Chief Financial Officer

Cordea Savills LLP
Richard Lake, Director of UK Fund Management               Tel: [phone]

Redleaf Communications Ltd (for UNITE)                     Tel: [phone]
Emma Kane/Wendy Timmons                                    Mob: [phone]


Further information on UNITE is available at www.unite-group.co.uk
Further information on Cordea Savills is available at www.cordeasavills.com


Editors Notes:

The UNITE Group plc

In November 2005, UNITE raised  £31 million of new cash equity to fund further
growth. This represented approximately 8.4% of the Group's share capital.  9.4
million new ordinary shares were issued at a price of 330 pence per share.

In November 2004 UNITE undertook a disposal to Morley Fund Management of a
portfolio of four purpose built student accommodation blocks.   The total
consideration for the portfolio was £49.35 million, equating to a 5.77% net
initial yield.

UNITE is the UK's number one student accommodation company. Led by strong values
at its heart, UNITE delivers the real student experience. It helps to regenerate
cities as part of the community and it contributes to improving the country's
housing.

The Group focuses on the provision and management of high quality, well-located
student accommodation and hospitality services at affordable prices in strong
higher education markets. UNITE undertakes the planning work, development and
management of sites, often working closely with the Universities and Colleges to
deliver accommodation for students across all ages and nationalities. UNITE
developments typically show high occupancy levels and robust rental growth as
demand continues to rise for places on UK Higher Education courses and for
quality and safe accommodation.

UNITE has pioneered the establishment of student accommodation as an asset class
within the Real Estate sector. Since the listing of UNITE on the London Stock
Exchange in 1999 the company has grown significantly and now operates 30,996
completed and managed bed spaces in the portfolio, with a further 8,642 bed
spaces secured for future delivery. As at 30 June 2005 the portfolio was valued
at £1.12 billion. UNITE is a constituent of the FTSE-250 group of companies and
has a current market capitalisation of approximately £425 million.

Cordea Savills LLP

Cordea Savills is a European property fund manager, offering a comprehensive
service on a pooled fund or segregated mandate basis.  Funds are invested either
directly in property, in investment vehicles, or both. Investment styles range
from core to opportunistic.

Cordea Savills is the brand name for entities in the Cordea Savills group,
including Cordea Savills LLP, Cordea Savills Investment Management Limited,
Cordea Savills Wealth Management LLP and Cordea Savills Advisors SpA.

As at 30 September 2005, Cordea Savills managed £1.5 billion (€2 billion) of
gross assets for a range of clients including corporate and local authority
pension funds, charities and UK and European private clients.

In order to advise and manage discretionary investment management business,
Cordea Savills LLP uses its subsidiary company, Cordea Savills Investment
Management Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services
Authority, registration number 193863.

Cordea Savills LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England No:
OC306423.



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