Unite Makes New Appointments to the Board – 1 February 2018

The Unite Group plc, the UK’s largest provider of student accommodation, announces the appointments of Elizabeth McMeikan (Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Remuneration Committee) as Senior Independent Director and Ross Paterson (Non-Executive Director) as Chair of the Audit Committee. These appointments follow the tragic and sudden death of Manjit Wolstenholme announced on 24 November 2017.  The appointments take effect immediately.

Elizabeth McMeikan joined Unite in 2014.  She has significant experience of working in customer-focused businesses, including Tesco and Colgate Palmolive.  Elizabeth is the Senior Independent Director at JD Wetherspoon plc and Chair of the Remuneration Committee at Flybe plc.

Ross Paterson joined Unite in 2017. He is already a member of the Audit Committee and, as a qualified accountant with extensive experience of managing finance in complex operational environments, is well placed to chair this Committee. He is currently Finance Director at Stagecoach Group plc and chairs the Audit Committee at Virgin Rail Group Holdings Limited.

Phil White, Chairman of Unite, commented:

“These appointments reflect our ongoing commitment to maintaining the best mixture of knowledge, experience and expertise on our board, following the tragic death of our valued colleague Manjit Wolstenholme.  The appointments of Liz and Ross are very well-deserved and reflect the valuable contributions both have already made to Unite.”