Student accommodation giant Unite Group is considering walking away from its sole build-to-rent (BTR) development at Stratford in east London as it looks to focus on its core business.
Unite Group chief financial officer Mike Burt said the company was “focused on the core business right now” and was “not planning to grow in the BTR space”.
He added it was considering exiting its 178-home 180 Stratford scheme on Stratford High Street, which it acquired in 2022 for £71m, marking the group’s entry into the BTR market.
Completed in 2013, the development comprises a mix of one-, two-and three-bedroom homes plus around 11,000 sq ft of commercial space.
In its full-year results, published last week, Unite Group posted a 78% plunge in pre-tax profits from £441.9m in 2024 to £97.6m last year, after a fall in its portfolio value.
John Lewis Partnership (JLP) has also recently confirmed it would be walking away from the BTR market, following a “fundamental shift in the economic conditions”.
JLP launched its BTR business in 2020 and has progressed on three major schemes in Reading, Bromley and West Ealing. Like Unite Group, JLP said the move away from BTR came as it looked to refocus on its core brands, Waitrose and John Lewis.
