Student housing group Empiric Student Property has been left with hundreds of unfilled rooms after a sharp decline in bookings from Chinese students, underlining the strain across the student accommodation market as demand falters.
The company, which is in the process of being acquired by larger rival Unite Group, said that occupancy for the 2024-25 academic year has reached only 89 per cent — well below the 97 per cent target it had forecast in September. Executives blamed a “slowdown in the pace of reservations” in the crucial weeks before term started, driven primarily by a drop in Chinese student numbers.
Chief executive Duncan Garrood said the fall was “potentially the result of geopolitical events,” as Chinese enrolments across UK universities have slowed amid changing visa rules and strained diplomatic relations. Empiric, whose Hello Student brand caters mainly to second- and third-year students and postgraduates, typically relies on Chinese students for around one-third of its occupancy.
The warning follows a similar shortfall at Unite, which last month revealed its beds were 95 per cent full, two percentage points below forecast. Unite, which operates around 68,000 beds nationally, said the weakness was concentrated among UK students, while Empiric’s difficulties stemmed from overseas demand.
Both companies have pointed to a “slower booking cycle” this year, with many students delaying decisions in hopes of finding cheaper accommodation closer to term start. Data from StuRents, the student lettings platform, showed a broad slowdown in bookings across major university cities such as Nottingham, Sheffield and Glasgow, where an influx of new purpose-built student blocks has also created localised oversupply.
Despite the weaker occupancy, Empiric said it had still achieved average rental growth of 4.5 per cent, though this was well below the 9.3 per cent and 7 per cent growth recorded in the two previous years.
The downturn has rippled through markets: Unite’s shares fell 1.6 per cent to 558p on Monday, while Empiric’s dropped 1.2 per cent to 77p. Because Unite is funding two-thirds of its £634 million acquisition with its own shares, Empiric’s stock price is closely tied to its suitor’s performance.
Unite’s chief executive Joe Lister has previously said the deal with Empiric would help the group retain students for longer, expanding its offering beyond first-year accommodation. The merger, which will cement Unite’s position as the UK’s largest student landlord, remains under review by the Competition and Markets Authority, though few expect any significant hurdles before completion next summer.
The broader slowdown comes at a sensitive time for the student housing sector. New visa restrictions have limited international students’ ability to bring dependants, while the rising UK minimum wage has made the financial return of a university degree less certain for domestic applicants. Analysts warn that such shifts could weigh on long-term demand for higher education — and with it, the fortunes of Britain’s biggest student landlords.
For now, both Unite and Empiric are betting on a rebound in 2025. But this year’s shortfall, fuelled by global politics, domestic economics and shifting student habits, has cast a shadow over what was once one of the property market’s most reliable growth stories.
