Unite Group, which develops and manages student accommodation, has announced the completion of the sale of its wholly-owned 56-bed property in Devonshire Street, west London.

According to Unite, the £15.25m transaction demonstrates further progress in its selective disposal programme of non-core assets, and "provides further confidence in achieving balance sheet asset sales within its target range of £100m to £150m by December 2012".

Richard Simpson, Managing Director of Property, said: "This sale marks further good progress in our disposal programme of non-core assets, and enables us to continue to concentrate our focus on our ongoing London development pipeline. The price achieved not only reflects the quality and location of this asset, but also clearly demonstrates the continued buoyancy and appeal of the student accommodation sector for investors."

The company added that the sale of smaller properties such as this is a "core element" of the group's strategy to improve the quality and operational efficiency of its portfolio.

It continued: "It also allows UNITE to control leverage and recycle capital into larger, more efficient developments in London, such as the 951-bed scheme adjacent to the Olympic Park in Stratford."

The share price rose 1.15% to 271.90p by 14:50.

NR

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