Edinburgh University has an estate of more than 500,000 sq m
A new report released today reveals the UK university sector continues to spend on its estates and overall the sector grew by £2bn in one year.
The Higher Education Estates Statistics Report 2016 spans the academic year 2014-2015, and reveals that annual turnover for the entire UK university estates sector is now at £30bn overall.
Capital expenditure grew by 5.6% across the country from £28bn, driven by investment in the estate as the sector continues to improve its estate and facilities as staff and students now expect higher quality and attractive facilities.
The report reveals university estates continue to expand. The university estate equates to 14.3 million sq m – more than 170 times the space of the Shard and an increase of 200,000 sq m since the previous year. Individually, the universities of Manchester, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Oxford and Nottingham all have academic estates in excess of 500,000 sq m.
Total property costs have remained relatively level for the past six to seven years, moving from £95 to £98/sq m, showing the sector’s continued commitment to driving efficiency.
For example, the University of Hertfordshire embarked on a strategy to boost income by securing commercial deals with businesses such as Ocado and Regus for office space, as well as commercial leases with bank Santander and the NHS, which runs a GP clinic on campus. Universities’ income rose to £1,477/sq m in 2014/15.
Across the sector, examples are documented in the report of universities exploiting their estate to secure alternative funding streams outside of traditional routes. The University of Sheffield built workshops, laboratories and office space in a business park in Catcliffe near the M1. The capital expenditure in Sheffield Business Park will deliver 4,000 jobs and generate more than £210m a year for the regional economy when fully developed.
However, the report also highlights that Brexit represents a significant risk for the HE sector.
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