Unite Group PLC (LSE:UTG) chief executive Richard Smith is to step down at the end of the year, with chief financial officer Joe Lister already singled out to replace him.
Lister has been at the company for 22 years, including 15 years as CFO, where it was noted he has played a role in delivering the group's investment strategy and has had direct responsibility for its property function.
The FTSE 100-listed student flats developer, which also provided a trading update that included a strong letting performance for the third quarter, announced a chain of other promotions within the management team as a result of Smith’s departure after almost eight years in the role.
This included replacing Lister as CFO with current investment director Michael Burt, who has been at the company since 2019; while finance director Katherine Grafton is being promoted to deputy CFO.
Chair Richard Huntingford said: “We have an exciting future ahead and I am confident that under Joe's leadership Unite is best placed to build on our successes to date and continue its leading role in increasing the delivery of much needed affordable student accommodation at a time when the supply demand imbalance has never been greater.”
Smith, in the separate trading update, said the UK is “increasingly short of suitable student accommodation as HMO landlords continue to leave the market at pace”.
The company reported 99.7% occupancy for the 2023/24 academic year, down from 97.9% a year ago, while rents have grown 7.3%.
Property values were said to be broadly stable in the past quarter, with the Unite UK Student Accommodation Fund up 0.2% and the London Student Accommodation Joint Venture down 0.2%.
Unite has not identified any reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in any of its buildings, it said, but is still carrying out a “limited number” of additional surveys ongoing but due to the average age of 12 years of its buildings does not anticipate any issues.