Each year, the University publishes information about its finances, which includes audited financial statements as well as information for students.
This information is available to all students and staff and can be accessed on our webpages.
Our total income in 2020/21 was £597.6 million. Our total expenditure of £571.8 million in 2020/21 was £25.8 million lower than our total income, generating a surplus.
Generating surpluses is an essential part of ensuring the financial health of our institution. Financial sustainability requires a position whereby the institution can cover operating costs, but also generate resources for investment. The surplus target for the University is 4% of income, which in 2020/21 equates to £23.9 million.
At the end of each financial year any recorded surplus is added to our reserves which are used to fund investment that can’t be met from our normal recurrent sources of revenue.
This includes:
- Safeguarding university finances against unforeseen adverse circumstances. These tend to be large, one-off unexpected costs such as the investment required to support our COVID-19 pandemic response
- Funding large investments such as building and facility improvements, and enhancing digital technology. This includes making our buildings more energy efficient, improving accessibility for students and staff with disabilities, and improving the learning and research environment for all.
Capital investments for 2020/21 which are funded mainly from surpluses made in previous years, include:
- £15.4 million in capital equipment
- £12.1 million in our world class Arts and Humanities Centre
- £6.2 million in our State-of-the-art Digital Innovation Facility
- £6.2 million in infrastructure programmes of work
- £2.4 million in the Regius Chair refurbishment (Science & Engineering)
- £1.0 million in our new Centre of Excellence in Infectious Diseases Research (CEIDR)
- £6.9 million in additional smaller projects
Income
Our income comes from a variety of sources, all of which support our work. These include government grants for teaching and research which subsidise the cost of more expensive programmes, student fees, donations and income generated through commercial activities.
Student fees, in total, made up 51% of our income.
You can view a breakdown of income sources here.
Expenditure
We used our income in 2020/21 to support our activity, from running academic departments to providing support services for students and maintaining our estate, premises and facilities.
The cost of academic departments and academic support services represents more than half of the University’s total expenditure. The remaining expenditure is essential in supporting the quality of the student experience.
You can view a breakdown of expenditure here.
How the home/EU £9,250 tuition fee is spent
Each year we aim to demonstrate how the £9,250 Home/EU tuition fee is spent to help students understand what their fees support beyond their academic tutoring. The areas highlighted in the report are also supported by income from other sources, but for the purposes of demonstrating specifically how the home/EU £9,250 student tuition fee is spent we have excluded activity funded by other income including government grants for teaching and research, research grants and contracts, and income from residences, catering and conferences.
You can view a breakdown of how the home/EU tuition fee is spent here.