Unite pulls plug on Sheffield deal

UNITE, the specialist developer of student accommodation, has had a bust-up with Sheffield University over the terms of a 30-year PPP (public-private partnership) concession to run its halls of residence. As a result, Unite has pulled out of the deal, to which it had been appointed preferred bidder, having run up costs of £1.3m.

Unite, founded by 32-year-old Bristol entrepreneur Nick Porter, decided that taking on all of Sheffield's old bed stock would be too risky and unprofitable. Long and eventually fruitless negotiations seem to have taught Unite a costly lesson. The company said it would now adopt a more selective approach to PPP contracts and restrict involvement to projects that involved significant development activity.

Unite has also got rid of its centralised PPP team, saving £300,000 a year, and will from now on use regional teams to seek out opportunities. Unite had set aside £4m for the Sheffield project, which will now be invested in other schemes. The shares dropped 8 1/2p to 144p.