Student accommodation specialist Unite Group has announced a £417M first-half pre-tax loss as it warned that purpose-built student accommodation is struggling under soaring construction costs. The UK's largest student accommodation provider reported that the loss was driven primarily by a 6.4% fall in the value of its property portfolio, reflecting higher interest rates and softer investment markets rather than weakening occupational demand. A revaluation of Unite’s property estate dealt a £530M hit to its profits, the firm said. “New supply of student accommodation will slow significantly over the next two to three years, and we see the same challenges impacting the build-to-rent sector,” he said. Unite acquired student accommodation rival Empiric in August of last year and told shareholders that this acquisition fuelled its 11% jump in rents to £262M.