Unite Group PLC Result of AGM (6960N)

TIDMUTG

RNS Number : 6960N

Unite Group PLC

10 May 2018

10 May 2018

THE UNITE GROUP PLC (the "Company")

RESULTS OF AGM

The Company announces that at its Annual General Meeting held today all resolutions were duly passed on a show of hands. Details of the proxy votes are in the table below.

Despite engagement and support from major shareholders, the Board noted significant votes against Resolution 15 (Issue shares pre-emptively), Resolution 16 (Dis-apply Pre-emption Rights) and Resolution 17 (Dis-apply Pre-emption rights - acquisition/specified capital investment). These Resolutions are consistent with the latest Pre-emption Group Principles and with the resolutions approved in previous years. The Company will consult with shareholders voting against these resolutions to understand their views in relation to the specific authorities sought.

 
                                 FOR                  AGAINST 
---  ----------------  ----------------------  ---------------------  ----------- 
                                                             % Votes     Votes 
                                      % Votes                  Cast     Withheld 
        Resolution        Votes*        Cast      Votes        ***         ** 
---  ----------------  ------------  --------  -----------  --------  ----------- 
 1    ANNUAL ACCOUNTS   223,282,160    99.94       130,000    0.06        305,239 
---  ----------------  ------------  --------  -----------  --------  ----------- 
      REMUNERATION 
 2     REPORT           216,758,054    97.34     5,916,825    2.66      1,042,518 
---  ----------------  ------------  --------  -----------  --------  ----------- 
 3    FINAL DIVIDEND    223,516,418   100.00             0    0.00        200,981 
---  ----------------  ------------  --------  -----------  --------  ----------- 
      APPROVE 
 4     SCRIP            223,515,003   100.00            19    0.00        202,377 
---  ----------------  ------------  --------  -----------  --------  ----------- 
      RE-ELECT 
 5     P M WHITE        201,921,567    94.69    11,332,627    5.31     10,463,203 
---  ----------------  ------------  --------  -----------  --------  ----------- 
      RE-ELECT 
 6     R S SMITH        221,045,128    98.81     2,672,251    1.19              0 
---  ----------------  ------------  --------  -----------  --------  ----------- 
      RE-ELECT 
 7     J J LISTER       219,623,784    98.17     4,093,615    1.83              0 
---  ----------------  ------------  --------  -----------  --------  ----------- 
      RE-ELECT 
 8     R C SIMPSON      221,041,323    98.80     2,676,076    1.20              0 
---  ----------------  ------------  --------  -----------  --------  ----------- 
      RE-ELECT 
 9     SIR T WILSON     222,676,493    99.53     1,040,906    0.47              0 
---  ----------------  ------------  --------  -----------  --------  ----------- 
      RE-ELECT 
 10    A JONES          222,676,797    99.53     1,040,602    0.47              0 
---  ----------------  ------------  --------  -----------  --------  ----------- 
      RE-ELECT 
 11    E MCMEIKAN       222,676,387    99.53     1,041,012    0.47              0 
---  ----------------  ------------  --------  -----------  --------  ----------- 
      ELECT R 
 12    PATERSON         222,783,668    99.58       931,731    0.42          2,000 
---  ----------------  ------------  --------  -----------  --------  ----------- 
      REAPPOINT 
 13    AUDITORS         218,003,646    97.45     5,711,613    2.55          2,120 
---  ----------------  ------------  --------  -----------  --------  ----------- 
      AUDITORS 
 14    REMUNERATION     213,544,676    95.46    10,155,901    4.54         16,820 
---  ----------------  ------------  --------  -----------  --------  ----------- 
      AUTH TO 
 15    ALLOT SHARES     148,185,971    66.24    75,531,426    33.76             0 
---  ----------------  ------------  --------  -----------  --------  ----------- 
      PRE-EMPTION 
 16    RIGHTS           169,355,638    75.97    53,557,925    24.03       803,834 
---  ----------------  ------------  --------  -----------  --------  ----------- 
      PRE-EMP 
       RGTS-ACQ/CAP 
 17    INV              168,365,058    75.53    54,549,013    24.47       803,327 
---  ----------------  ------------  --------  -----------  --------  ----------- 
      GENERAL 
       MEETING 
 18    NOTICE           187,786,079    83.94    35,931,320    16.06             0 
---  ----------------  ------------  --------  -----------  --------  ----------- 
 

* Includes those votes giving the Chairman discretion.

** A "Vote Withheld" is not a vote in law and is not counted in the calculation of "For" and "Against" a resolution.

***0.0001 rounded to 0.00 for consistency

Maximum number of shares represented by proxy: 223,717,399 shares.

Number of ordinary shares in issue as at the date of the AGM (no shares held in treasury): 263,112,415 shares.

Resolutions 1 to 15 were passed as ordinary resolutions and Resolutions 16 to 18 were passed as special resolutions.

Pursuant to UK Listing Rule 9.6.2R, copies of all resolutions, other than those concerning ordinary business, adopted at the AGM will be shortly submitted to the National Storage Mechanism and will be available for inspection at http://www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/NSM.

The full text of the resolutions passed at the AGM can be found in the Notice of AGM which is available alongside the AGM results on the Company's website at http://www.unite-group.co.uk/

-ENDS-

For further information, please contact:

 
  Unite Students 
   Candice Macdonald, Head of                  Tel: [phone] 
   Communications 
 
   Powerscourt (PR adviser to                  Tel: [phone] 
   Unite) 
   Justin Griffiths or Mazar 
   Masud 
 

Notes to editors:

About Unite Students

Unite Students is the UK's largest manager and developer of purpose-built student accommodation serving the country's world-leading higher education sector. We currently provide homes for almost 50,000 students in more than 140 properties across 24 leading university towns and cities in England and Scotland. Unite also has a strong development pipeline, which will deliver a further 8,000 beds in the next three years.

Our 1,400 people are driven by a common purpose: to provide the students who live with us a 'Home for Success' and to be the most trusted brand in the sector. We do this through great service, great people and great properties, all designed on the basis of an unrivalled insight into students' needs and preferences.

Unite's accommodation is high quality, safe and secure, and located close to university campuses, transport links and local amenities. Students live predominantly in en-suite study bedrooms with rents covering all bills, insurance, 24-hour security, fortnightly cleaning services and high-speed Wi-Fi. MyUnite, our mobile app, provides practical support such as instant messaging and maintenance requests.

Our commitment to customer service is powered by an innovative, in-house operating platform. It provides a wide range of benefits to our students, such as an optimised online booking process, as well as providing us with a unique ability to drive value from our portfolio through scale efficiencies and revenue management.

Alongside delivering great service, our other strategic priority is delivering growing and sustainable earnings, underpinned by a strong capital structure. A key part of this strategy is growing the number of beds let though partnerships with mid and high tariff universities which are experiencing record levels of student demand. We currently partner with 60 higher education institutions, guaranteeing that approximately 60% of our rooms are let under multi-year, 'nomination agreements' providing high visibility of forward occupancy and rental growth.

Unite is invested in and operates two specialist funds and joint ventures with institutional investment partners: the GBP2 billion Unite UK Student Accommodation Fund (USAF), and the GBP1 billion London Student Accommodation Vehicle (LSAV).

Unite is the founder of and major donor to the Unite Foundation, a charitable trust established to support talented students facing challenging financial circumstances through the provision of free accommodation annual scholarships. The Foundation has so far provided scholarships for 250 young people working in close collaboration with 28 universities.

Founded in 1991 in Bristol, Unite Group is an award-winning Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), listed on the London Stock Exchange and a member of the FTSE 250 Index.

For more information, please visit Unite's corporate website www.unite-group.co.uk, the student site www.unite-students.com or the Unite Foundation www.unitefoundation.co.uk.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

END

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May 10, 2018 08:30 ET (12:30 GMT)