Prestigious Scottish university posts £13m deficit amid 'challenging' pressures

The University of St Andrews has reported its deficit more than doubled to £13 million last year, while three other Scottish universities recorded a surplus.

Newly-released accounts for 2023/24 show the nation’s oldest university had an underlying operating deficit of £13m, up from £5.5m in 2022/23.

Glasgow University’s accounts, meanwhile, show a surplus of £28.7m, down from £68.2m in the previous year, and £142.3m in 2021/22.

Glasgow University | Getty Images

It highlighted a “more challenging international recruitment cycle”, with total student FTE numbers falling from 33,961 to 31,642, mainly because of a reduction of 1,978 international students, which was “due partly to a planned reduction in growth combined with market forces”.

Edinburgh Napier University had a surplus before exceptional items of £2m in 2023/24, down from £8.6m.

And the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) recorded a surplus before other gains and losses of £4.6m, compared to a surplus of £700,000 in 2022/23.

Other Scottish institutions have still to report their results, but several English universities have recently revealed deficits for last year, including of £9m at York University, £8.3m at Leicester University, £13m at Brunel, University of London, £17.3m at Hull University, and £17.9m at Surrey University.

The £13m loss at St Andrews was primarily driven by a £6.9m shortfall in tuition income, with the university under-achieving its targets for overseas postgraduate students by 265 full time equivalents (FTE).

Other issues contributing to the deficit include not achieving targets for savings from staff vacancies, a £1.4m shortfall in student accommodation income, and a one-off investment in a new financial system.

In its annual report, the university blamed the previous Tory government at Westminster for creating a “particularly unwelcoming environment” for overseas students, which added to pressures created by the “unsustainable funding model” for UK and Scottish students.

The figures for last year have emerged just days after The Scotsman revealed the university was battling a £4.4m recurring deficit in the current year, with its financial plan having to be “recast”.

The annual report also shows that Dame Sally Mapstone, the principal of St Andrews, received no increase in her £330,000 salary last year.

In 2021/22, she donated a salary rise to the St Andrews Student Hardship Fund.

Before posting deficits in the last two years, St Andrews University recorded a surplus of £22m in 2021/22 and of £14.7m in 2020/21.

A spokesperson for St Andrews University said: “As explained in the accounts, the £13m deficit reported for our last financial year was due principally to non-recurring expenditure, and delays in anticipated receipts.

“That is separate from and quite different to the recurring deficit of £4.4m which we have identified in the current year, and are taking steps to address.

“Thanks to the cooperation of staff and students, we have made substantial progress towards recovering it.

“The financial pressures facing the sector are well documented. They are due primarily to a collapse in the overseas postgraduate market fuelled by the unwelcoming posture of the previous Westminster administration, and the sustained erosion in the value of Scottish and UK tuition fees.”

St Andrews University has said it is not planning redundancies in the same way as Dundee, Edinburgh or Robert Gordon universities.

Last week, a Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government recognises the significant economic and social contribution of universities, which is why we are continuing to invest over £1.1 billion to support the delivery of their world-leading teaching and research.

“While universities are responsible for their own strategic and operational decision making, the Scottish Government and the Scottish Funding Council will continue to support individual universities, including St Andrews, as they develop their own plans to mitigate their financial challenges.”