Unite Students CEO Richard Smith to step down

LONDON, UK: Unite Students, the UK’s leading student accommodation provider, has announced that its CEO Richard Smith will step down at the end of 2023 after 13 years with the company. He will be succeeded by Joe Lister, the current CFO, who has been with Unite for 22 years.

Michael Burt, the current Group Investment Director, will take over as CFO, and Katherine Grafton, the current Group Finance Director, will become Deputy CFO. The changes will take effect from 1 January 2024.

Smith said he was leaving to pursue his personal interest in supporting the education and development of young people. He has led Unite since 2016 and oversaw its growth to 157 properties across 23 university towns and cities, housing over 70,000 students. Unite became a FTSE 100 company in 2022 and has established over 60 partnerships with universities.

Richard Huntingford, Chair of Unite, thanked Smith for his achievements and said he was confident that Lister was an outstanding candidate to lead the company as it continues to deliver valuable growth and increase the supply of affordable student accommodation.

The company also released the latest fund valuations and a brief trading update today.