* Sees development opportunities, plans London site buys
* H1 pretax profit 3.5 mln stg vs previous 2.9 mln stg loss
* NAV fell 12 pct, net debt reduced to 504 mln stg
* Shares rise 7 pct, outperforming broader market
(Adds details, CEO quotes, share price)
By Daryl Loo
LONDON, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Shares of Unite Group jumped 7 percent after the UK's largest provider of student housing said it sees attractive development opportunities emerging, particularly in London, and plans to buy new sites.
Unite, which manages over 36,000 student beds across the UK, reported on Tuesday its adjusted fully diluted net asset value per share fell 12 percent to 286 pence as at end-June, and it would withhold an interim dividend to save cash.
"Owing to the pronounced ongoing supply-demand imbalance, there is a clear opportunity to deliver accommodation in the capital at or above 2009 volumes at very attractive returns from 2012 onwards," Chief Executive Mark Allan said in a statement.
"The group is now positioning itself to take advantage of these opportunities and intends to secure sites for 2012 delivery over the next six to nine months," Allan said.
At 0710 GMT, Unite shares were up 7 percent, outperforming the UK property stocks index which fell 0.8 percent.
Student housing has held up relatively well amid the severe downturn in the British commercial real estate market, with rentals forecast to rise about 10 percent this year as demand outstrips supply.
Unite said 89 percent of its student beds have been reserved currently, and like-for-like rental growth is anticipated to be between 10 to 11 percent for the upcoming UK academic year, which begins in September.
The group shrunk its adjusted net debt to 504 million pounds ($831.8 million) from 584 million pound as at end-June, due to a new joint venture and asset sales, and is on track to exceed its 150 million pound asset disposal target for 2009, Unite said.
Earlier this month, Unite announced a joint venture with Bahrain's Oasis Capital Bank, which will take over three of Unite's existing development projects and reduce its net debt by 75 million pounds.
Unite said it has also renegotiated three banking facilities to extend their maturities and increase covenant headroom, and now has no significant debt maturities before September 2012. (Reporting by Daryl Loo; Editing by Andrew Macdonald and Rupert Winchester) (See www.reutersrealestate.com for the global service for real estate professionals from Reuters)