De servitute academica, seu de debitorum viribus

An incomplete and ongoing list of UK universities with major borrowings (£50m+) in recent years

UUKspin

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UUKspin

7 min readJan 30, 2019

In alphabetical order and last updated 31 January 2019, 00:00 GMT

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• Bangor University

Bangor University’s borrowing arrangements appear complex and are under dispute. See Times Higher Education, 29 January 2019 regarding Private Finance Initiatives (PFI): ‘“there is a longer term liability to repay the third parties a total of £237m […] these arrangements present the most significant long term liability to the university” […] Bangor’s debt cost “£9.9 million to service during 2018 alone, which was more than cash flow generated from operating activities”’. See also this thread by BangorUniversityStaff on Twitter, 17 January 2019; Wales Online, 17 January 2019; Bangor Aye, 18 January 2019.

• Birmingham, University of

Type: Loan
Announced: May 2012
Amount borrowed: £75m
Maturity: unknown
Rate: unknown
Vice-Chancellor responsible: Professor Sir David Eastwood
Lender: European Investment Bank

• Bristol, University of

Type: Loan
Announced: May 2017
Amount borrowed: £200m
Maturity: 2047–2057 (30–40 years)
Rate: 2.58%-2.6%
Vice-Chancellor responsible: Professor Hugh Brady
Lender: Pricoa Capital Group
NB: University of Bristol, Financial Update of 7 December 2018: another £250m loan from Barclays, due 2038–2047, rate 4.57%–5.02%

• Cambridge, University of

Type: Public bond
Announced: June 2018
Principal: £600m (2 x £300m)
Maturity: 2078 (60 years for £300m); 2028–2068 (‘between 10 and 50 years’ for £300m)
Rates: 2.35%; 0.25%
Credit rating (Moody’s): Aaa in June 2018 (outlook stable)
Vice-Chancellor responsible: Professor Stephen Toope
Joint bookrunners: Barclays, HSBC and Morgan Stanley
NB: Times Higher Education, 10 October 2012: on 2012 £350m, 40-year, 3.75% public bond, rated Aaa

• Cardiff University

Type: Public bond
Announced: February 2016
Principal: £300m
Maturity: 2055 (39 years)
Rate: 3%
Credit rating (Moody’s): Aa2 in January 2016 (outlook stable), Aa3 in October 2017 (outlook negative)
Vice-Chancellor responsible: Professor Colin Riordan
Joint bookrunners: HSBC, Lloyds Bank and Morgan Stanley

• De Montfort University

Type: Public bond
Announced: July 2012
Principal: £110m
Maturity: 2042 (30 years)
Rate: 5.375%
Credit rating (Moody’s): Aa1 in July 2012 (outlook negative), Aa3 in September 2017 (outlook negative)
Vice-Chancellor responsible: Professor Dominic Shellard
Bookrunner: Barclays

• Durham University

Type: Private bond
Announced: August 2018
Principal: £225m
Maturity: £145m invested by Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC), ‘with £70m maturing in 2058 and £75m maturing in 2067’
Rate: ‘at a competitive fixed interest rate’
Credit rating: Done through private placement
Vice-Chancellor responsible: Professor Stuart Corbridge
Lenders: Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) and ‘five unnamed North American institutional investors’
Placement agents: Lloyds, Santander

• East Anglia, University of

Type: Private placement and revolving credit facility
Announced: November 2018
Amount borrowed: £175m (£75m private placement + £100m revolving credit facility)
Maturity: 30 years for private placement; 10 years for revolving credit facility
Rate: unknown
Credit rating: Done through private placement
Vice-Chancellor responsible: Professor David Richardson
Lenders: ‘private placement with existing lender Barings, a US investor’; revolving credit facility from Natwest, also an incumbent lender’

• Edinburgh, University of

Type: Loan
Announced: March 2016
Amount borrowed: £300m (£200m European Investment Bank + £100m ‘from a US investment fund’)
Maturity: 2046 (‘up to 30 years’)
Rate: ‘with a flexible repayment schedule and an average cost of borrowing of less than 3 per cent’
Vice-Chancellor responsible: Professor Sir Timothy O’Shea
Lenders: European Investment Bank and ‘a US investment fund’
NB: (Global Capital, 26 February 2016): ‘after deciding against a £300m public bond’

• Essex, University of

Appears to be 3 transactions related to student accommodation:
August 2012: undisclosed amount
March 2017: £98m
May 2017: £68m

• Glasgow, University of

Type: Private bond
Announced: July 2016 (from ‘Reports and Financial Statements for the year to 31 July 2016’)
Principal: £70m (£30m + £40m)
Maturity: 2046 (£30m over 30 years); 2051 (£40m over 35 years)
Rate: £30m at 2.97%; £40m at 3.01%
Credit rating: Done through private placement
Vice-Chancellor responsible: Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli
Lender: unknown
Placement agent: unknown

• Heriot-Watt University

Type: Private bond
Announced: December 2016 (from ‘Reports and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 July 2017’)
Principal: £112m
Maturity: ‘repayable over 15–30 years’
Rate: ‘at a competitive fixed interest rate’
Credit rating: Done through private placement
Vice-Chancellor responsible: Professor Richard A. Williams
Lenders: ‘with two US and one UK investor’
Placement agent: unknown

• Imperial College London

Type: Private bond
Announced: November 2016
Principal: £200m
Maturity: 2049–2056 (‘Between 33 and 40 years’)
Rate: ‘Average fixed rate of 2.46%’
Credit rating: Done through private placement
Vice-Chancellor responsible: Professor Alice Gast
Placement agent: Lloyds
NB: Sources (Imperial College; Guardian) on 2006 £50m, 50-year, ‘below 5% rate’ private bond, placed through RBS.

• Kent, University of

Type: Loan
Announced: November 2014
Amount borrowed: £75m
Maturity: 2039 (‘up to 25 years’)
Rate: unknown
Vice-Chancellor responsible: Professor Dame Julia Goodfellow
Lender: European Investment Bank

• King’s College London

‘“There is strong demand from high-quality students and we want our facilities to be competitive internationally”, says Stephen Large, vice president of finance at King’s College London. “With this in mind, we decided to raise £135m capital funding in the private placement market to redevelop the Strand Campus.”’

• Leeds, University of

Type: Public bond
Announced: February 2016
Principal: £250m
Maturity: 2050 (34 years)
Rate: 3.125%
Credit rating (Moody’s): Aa2 in February 2016 (outlook stable), Aa3 in September 2017 (outlook negative)
Vice-Chancellor responsible: Sir Alan Langlands
Joint bookrunners: Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds

• Leicester, University of

Type: Loan
Announced: July 2013
Amount borrowed: £55m
Maturity: 2038 (25 years)
Rate: unknown
Vice-Chancellor responsible: Professor Sir Robert Burgess
Lender: European Investment Bank

• Lincoln, University of

Type: Loan
Announced: June 2015
Amount borrowed: £48m
Maturity: unknown
Rate: unknown
Vice-Chancellor responsible: Professor Mary Stuart
Lender: European Investment Bank

• Liverpool, University of

Type: Public bond
Announced: June 2015
Principal: £250m
Maturity: 2055 (40 years)
Rate: 3.375%
Credit rating (Moody’s): Aa2 in June 2015 (outlook stable), Aa3 in October 2017 (outlook negative)
Vice-Chancellor responsible: Professor Dame Janet Beer
Joint bookrunners: Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds Bank

• Manchester, University of

Type: Public bond
Announced: July 2013
Principal: £300m
Maturity: 2053 (40 years)
Rate: 4.25%
Credit rating (Moody’s): Aa1 in July 2013 (outlook stable), Aa2 in October 2017 (outlook negative)
Vice-Chancellor responsible: Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell
Joint bookrunners: Barclays, HSBC and RBS

• Newcastle, University of

Type: Loan
Announced: February 2016
Amount borrowed: £100m
Maturity: 2046 (30 years)
Rate: unknown
Vice-Chancellor responsible: Professor Chris Brink
Lender: European Investment Bank

• Northampton, University of

Type: Public bond — backed by HM Treasury
Announced: November 2014
Principal: £300m
Maturity: 2054 (40 years)
Rate: 3.302%
Credit rating: ‘As potential investors looked to the credit quality of HM Treasury rather than the underlying debtor, the University did not need to obtain a credit rating either for itself or for the underlying bond.’
Vice-Chancellor responsible: Professor Nick Petford

• Oxford, University of

Type: Public bond
Announced: December 2017
Principal: £750m
Maturity: 2117 (100 years)
Rate: 2.54%
Credit rating (Moody’s): Aaa in December 2017 (outlook stable)
Vice-Chancellor responsible: Professor Louise Richardson
Bookrunner: J.P. Morgan
NB: Oxford University, 17 September 2015: European Investment Bank, £200m, 30-year loan.

• Portsmouth, University of

Type: Loan
Announced: March 2018
Amount borrowed: £100m
Maturity: unknown
Rate: unknown
Vice-Chancellor responsible: Professor Graham Galbraith
Lender: ‘Two North American institutional investors through a private placement of debt’ (Financial Times, 6 March 2018)
Placement agent: Lloyds

• Royal Holloway, University of London

Type: Loan
Announced: June 2015
Amount borrowed: £80m
Maturity: ‘a mix of 20 year, 25 year and 30 year maturities’
Rate: ‘an average interest rate of just over 3 per cent per annum’
Vice-Chancellor responsible: Professor Paul Layzell
Lender: Pricoa Capital Group (International Financing Review, 13–19 October 2018)
Placement agent: Barclays

• Southampton, University of

Type: Public bond
Announced: April 2017
Principal: £300m
Maturity: 2057 (40 years)
Rate: 2.25%
Credit rating (Moody’s): Aa2 in April 2017 (outlook negative), Aa3 in October 2017 (outlook negative)
Vice-Chancellor responsible: Professor Sir Christopher Snowden
Joint bookrunners: Barclays, HSBC and Morgan Stanley

• Stirling, University of

Type: Private bond
Announced: May 2016
Principal: £50m
Maturity: 17 to 32 years
Rate: ‘at an average rate of 3.82%’
Credit rating: Done through private placement
Vice-Chancellor responsible: Professor Gerry McCormac
Lenders: ‘one US and one UK investor’
Placement agents: Barclays

• Strathclyde, University of

Type: Loan
Announced: May 2011
Amount borrowed: £89m
Maturity: unknown
Rate: unknown
Vice-Chancellor responsible: Professor Sir Jim McDonald
Lender: European Investment Bank

• Surrey, University of

Type: Loan
Announced: May 2016
Amount borrowed: £120m
Maturity: 2046 (30 years for £40m+£55m); 2052 (36 years for £25m)
Rate: unknown
Vice-Chancellor responsible: Professor Max Lu
Lenders: Legal & General £40m, Pricoa Capital Group £55m, BAE Systems Pension Fund £25m
Placement agent: Lloyds

• Swansea, University of

Type: Loan
Announced: June 2016
Amount borrowed: £60m
Maturity: unknown
Rate: unknown
Vice-Chancellor responsible: Professor Richard B. Davies
Lender: European Investment Bank

• Ulster, University of

Type: Loan
Announced: February 2014
Amount borrowed: £150m
Maturity: unknown
Rate: unknown
Vice-Chancellor responsible: Professor Sir Richard Barnett
Lender: European Investment Bank

• University College London

Type: Loan
Announced: April 2016
Amount borrowed: £280m
Maturity: 2046 (30 years)
Rate: ‘Undisclosed rate of interest’
Vice-Chancellor responsible: Professor Michael Arthur
Lender: European Investment Bank
NB: Financial Times, 28 April 2016: ‘[University College London] is also borrowing a further £150m over five years from a consortium of banks’

To be completed

Bedfordshire, University of
Bournemouth, University of
Dundee, University of
Exeter, University of
Goldsmiths, University of London
Gloucestershire, University of
Hull, University of
Kingston University London
Leeds Beckett University
London, University of
Nottingham Trent University
Royal College of Music
Queen Margaret University
Salford, University of
Sheffield, University of
Sussex, University of
University of Wales Trinity St David