The UK¡¯s largest student accommodation provider paid three executives more than ?1 million each last year, prompting critics to?claim that ¡°huge salaries¡± in the growing market are ¡°being funded by public money and student debt¡±.

With student numbers growing fast in recent years and universities reluctant or unable to build their own halls, the for-profit student accommodation industry is an ever larger presence in UK higher education.

And, with an increase in student maintenance funding in England one potential outcome of the government¡¯s ongoing review of post-18 education, the industry may have a larger pool of potential income in the future.

Richard Smith, chief executive of Unite Students, received?a total remuneration package of ?1.4 million in 2017, , including ?437,167 in salary, an annual bonus of ?401,407, pension benefit of ?84,506 and ?476,619 via a long-term incentive plan. Joe Lister, chief financial officer, picked up a total remuneration package of ?1.3 million, and there was ?1.2 million for former property director Richard Simpson.

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Unite is the UK¡¯s biggest provider of purpose-built student accommodation in terms of volume, with 36,385 beds nationwide.?

Goldman Sachs and the Wellcome Trust are majority shareholders in iQ Student Accommodation, which describes itself as ¡°the largest accommodation provider in the UK by value¡±.?Companies House documents show that total remuneration ¡°in respect of qualifying services¡± for the highest-paid director at IQSA Services Ltd?¨C which a spokeswoman said is ¡°part of the iQ Student Accommodation group¡± ¨C was ?1,058,000 in 2016-17.

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Another major provider, UPP, saw its highest-paid director pick up a total remuneration?package of ?553,000, including pension payments and benefits. Total remuneration for all directors stood at ?4.7 million, although it is understood that this includes inter-company payments to reflect the time that directors spend on subsidiary boards, .

A by the National Union of Students and non-profit provider Unipol found that, in 2015-16, the average weekly rent for purpose-built student accommodation (across universities and private providers) was ?146.73 ¨C up 18.4 per cent since 2012-13.

The survey report said that while in 2006, 82 per cent of the student accommodation sector was operated by institutions, that had shrunk to 59 per cent by 2015-16 and it predicted that, if trends continued, the private sector would ¡°be the majority supplier¡± by this year.

Many domestic students rely on government-backed student maintenance funding to pay their rent ¨C although?that is not the case for international students.

Sally Hunt, general secretary of the University and College Union, said: ¡°These huge salaries are being funded by public money and student debt.¡±

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She added that the government¡¯s review of student finance ¡°needs to look at the best way to support students while they are at university, but they need that money to help them study, not to fund further rent hikes¡±.

Eva Crossan-Jory, NUS vice-president for welfare, said that while ¡°there are accommodation executives earning greater salaries than ever before¡­students are struggling to meet the rising costs of their accommodation. If there was ever a case of redistributing wealth the wrong way, then this is it.¡±

She said that there would ¡°now be a legitimate fear that, if the ongoing Augar review recommends a much-needed increase in the size of the maintenance support package, then it will simply find its way into the accounts of these providers. The only solution then remains a shift away from reliance on private providers across the sector ¨C so that any surplus generated is invested back into students, rather than the pockets of executives.¡±

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A Unite spokesman said that ¡°like any public company, Unite¡¯s executive remuneration is determined by an independent committee and approved by shareholders¡±, as well as being ¡°measured against comparable companies and¡­linked to the generation of long-term value for all stakeholders, namely shareholders, students and university partners¡±.

He added: ¡°Our customers are students and universities who need accommodation and have a choice of options. They choose Unite because, as our student and university satisfaction surveys show, they recognise that we offer a high-quality living environment that provides real value.¡±

A spokeswoman for iQ said: ¡°Executive pay is set by the remuneration committee and draws on external benchmarking done against the industry and comparable sectors.¡± The firm has ¡°extremely high occupancy rates...demonstrating the appeal we have and the value we give to our higher education partners and the students who choose to stay with us¡±, she added.

A UPP spokeswoman said that its remuneration packages ¡°are performance-based¡± and ¡°regularly benchmarked¡±, designed to attract ¡°the best talent¡± in terms of individuals ¡°who are fully focused on providing the best deals for our partner universities and a great residential experience for students¡±.

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john.morgan@timeshighereducation.com