Proposed Acquisition

Unite Group PLC 31 May 2000 Proposed acquisition of a portfolio of properties in Liverpool The Unite Group plc ('Unite' or 'the Company'), the UK's leading specialist provider of student residential accommodation and an independent provider of key worker accommodation to NHS trusts, announces that it has agreed to acquire five properties in Liverpool with an option over a sixth property in the same location (the 'Portfolio'). The maximum cash consideration payable is £22.0 million. Four of the properties in the Portfolio are completed properties with a total of 660 bed spaces and two are development properties, which are expected to provide between 167 and 180 bed spaces, when completed. The acquisition is conditional upon the approval of Unite's shareholders. On the basis that this approval is obtained, Unite expects to acquire the four completed properties in June this year. The acquisition of the two development properties is also dependent on satisfactory completion of the relevant building work and, in one case, on Unite deciding to exercise its option to acquire the property. Completion of the two development properties and Unite's acquisition of them is expected in September 2000 and September 2001. The vendor of the Portfolio will retain the development risk for these two properties. All six properties in the Portfolio are located in central Liverpool adjacent to the main Liverpool University campus, and in proximity to Liverpool John Moores University and the main Liverpool hospitals. The four completed properties are already directly let to students and, to a lesser extent, NHS key workers. All the properties are freehold or long leasehold tenure. The consideration for the four completed properties is £17.1 million in cash (of which a non-refundable deposit of £350,000 has already been paid) with an additional consideration of up to £4.9 million in cash to be paid for the two development properties on satisfactory completion of the relevant building work. The acquisition will initially be financed from existing cash resources. Following completion, it is intended that the Portfolio will be re-financed by a new bank facility. Taking into account certain of Unite's initiatives which it can deliver in the short term, the Portfolio has been independently valued at £25.3 million on the basis that the two development properties have been fully completed (of which £2.95 million relates to the development property under option). After taking into account the costs of acquiring the Portfolio, the acquisition of the four completed properties will provide an enhancement of £1.5 million to Unite's net assets in the current financial year and a further £1.1 million enhancement when the two development properties are completed and acquired by Unite. The Portfolio is expected to generate net rental income of £1.48 million per annum from the four completed properties, rising to £1.89 million per annum when the two development properties are completed and acquired by Unite, providing an initial net yield of 8.7 per cent. The acquisition is expected to be earnings enhancing in the current financial year. The acquisition of the Portfolio significantly expands Unite's operations in the North of England and, together with the properties acquired in Manchester in February 2000, creates an important regional presence and a platform for continued growth in this area. In addition to the above Portfolio, Unite is in exclusive discussions with the vendor in relation to two strategically important city centre sites in the North, which could provide in excess of 1,000 bed spaces within one to two years. A circular giving details of the Portfolio and convening an extraordinary general meeting of the Company will be sent to shareholders shortly. Nicholas Porter, Chief Executive of Unite, commented: 'We are delighted to have secured this important acquisition. The portfolio is well located in a city with high demand for student and NHS key worker accommodation. The acquisition will provide an uplift of £1.5 million to Unite's net assets in the current financial year, with more to come in due course, and also gives us a strong platform from which to continue to develop our operations in the North. At the time of our £38.5 million fundraising in March this year, we set out a strategy of focused national expansion. This transaction is directly in line with that strategy.' For further information, please contact: The Unite Group plc Nicholas Porter, Chief Executive 0117 907 8100 Robert Fleming & Co. Limited Edward Banks 020 7638 5858 Ludgate Communications Limited Tim Davis / Alex Brog 020 7253 2252

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