Unite is a company that runs for-profit student residences located near British universities. (They are popular with students who couldn’t get a room on campus). Signs that the UK government is about to sharply curtail the number of foreign students allowed into the country caused shares in the firm to nosedive on Friday, according to the Evening Standard.
Shares in the FTSE 250 company fell 23.25p or 4% to 558.75p after analysts at Morgan Stanley cut its rating from Overweight to Underweight, worried that Rudd’s new restrictions on overseas students could leave uni halls empty.
“We think the Home Secretary’s intention to continue reducing student visas risks deterring international students further and could affect Unite’s properties near lower-ranking universities,” analyst Bianca Riemer said, adding that non-EU students make up a quarter of Unite’s tenants.
This is an early warning sign of the possible implications for university finances of a reduction in the numbers of students admitted into the country.
The Past Speaks 
Leave a Reply