Exclusive:Revealed: Scottish universities' 'eye-watering' bill for chauffeur-driven cars and 5-star hotels

Scottish universities have come under fire for splashing out “eye-watering” sums on chauffeur-driven cars, five-star hotels and overseas travel.

Bosses at some institutions have been accused of undermining the sector’s battle for greater Scottish Government investment in higher education as a result of their own “needlessly extravagant expenditure”.

An investigation by The Scotsman found that close to £4,000 was spent on chauffeur-driven transport in one year by Andrea Nolan, the principal and vice chancellor of Edinburgh’s Napier University.

A total of 17 payments were made on behalf of the principal between October 2021 and October 2022 to a company called Chauffeured Transportation that boasts a fleet of Mercedes vehicles and specialises in “luxury travel services”.

Travel expenses for Professor Nolan, who earns a salary of £226,000, also show she spent around £1,700 on a stay at one of Singapore’s top five-star hotels, the Park Royal Collection Marina Bay, in the winter of 2022, while graduations and meetings were held there.

She was in Singapore just a couple of weeks before Sir Peter Mathieson, the Edinburgh University principal, who was attending alumni meetings.

Sir Peter, who earns £348,000-a-year and has his Regent Terrace home and bills provided by the university, spent three nights at a different five-star hotel, the Intercontinental Singapore, along with a vice principal, at a cost of £1,346.

He had come to Singapore via Tokyo and Hong Kong, where he held meetings relating to development, alumni and donors, at a cost of around £10,000 on flights alone.

In the same month as the trip, a university credit card was used by Sir Peter at the five-star Renaissance Hotel in Hong Kong.

A few months later, in April 2023, as lecturers across the UK were embarking on a controversial marking and assessment boycott in a dispute over pay and conditions, about £9,500 was spent for the principal to fly to Brisbane for a meeting of the Universitas 21 network, with an Edinburgh University’s credit card used at the five-star Brisbane Marriott.

The following month, the credit card was used at both Prague’s five-star Grand Hotel Bohemia, where Sir Peter was attending a League of European Research Universities rectors' meeting, and the five-star Hilton Nicosia in Cyprus, where he went to a conference of the Association of Commonwealth Universities.

Sir Peter made other trips in 2022 and 2023 to the US, South Africa, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Ghana, Ecuador, and Slovenia.

Heriot-Watt University’s principal, Richard A Williams, is also a regular traveller.

He racked up a bill of more than £106,000 in just two-and-a-half years on hotels and flights outside Europe, with the bulk related to the university’s hubs in Dubai and Malaysia.

More than £73,000 was spent on travel and hotels on behalf of Dame Sally Mapstone, the principal of St Andrews University, between 2021 and 2023.

Closer to home, meanwhile, Dundee University principal Iain Gillespie took a £290 taxi to travel the 63-mile distance from Dundee to Edinburgh for a meeting with the Scottish Government last August.

Dundee University said it was a “one-off” and was not usual practice.

Mary Senior, Scotland official UCU, said: “At a time when universities are understandably concerned about cuts to the higher education budget, university principals should show restraint and refrain from needlessly extravagant expenditure.

“University funding and budgets are under unprecedented strain and staff pay has not kept up with inflation, but when principals and senior managers splash out on chauffeurs and lavish lunches, it makes it all the harder for us to make the case for fair funding for the university sector.”

Some of the spending overseas at all universities relates to payments for hosting of events, and can also be made on behalf of other university staff, not just the principal.

A spokesperson for Edinburgh Napier University said: “Edinburgh Napier has a strong history of global engagement, and internationalisation plays a significant part in our strategy.

“Our principal has a fundamental role in developing partnerships, growing networks, and building the university’s profile overseas.

“The income generated from our international operations is key to Edinburgh Napier’s future growth.

“The principal’s travel expenses, like those of the rest of our university leadership team, are approved in line with university policy.”

A University of Edinburgh spokesperson said: "The university operates on a national and international stage and this is reflected in all areas of university life.

“The principal is responsible for the overall operation of the university and as such represents the university at strategically significant meetings and events worldwide. International travel is an essential part of the principal’s role, which includes hosting fundraising opportunities, developing and maintaining global partnerships, and supporting our alumni community and network of international offices.

“Accommodation is chosen in line with the university’s expenses policy. Adjustments to this are considered when specific accommodation is advised by an event’s host – often including a special discount rate – or if it is also an appropriate and accessible location to carry out key meetings and other events with partners, donors and networks.”

A spokesperson for Heriot-Watt University said: “Heriot-Watt is a global University with campuses in Dubai and Malaysia, as well as a significant transnational presence through international partnerships.

“The role of principal and vice chancellor carries responsibility for leadership as the chief executive across the whole University which has approximately 7,000 students on campus in Dubai and Malaysia and around 10,000 students on campus in Scotland. 

“In order to fulfil that role leading a global university, it is necessary to travel regularly to these locations, attending events such as graduations, and providing leadership across our community of staff, students and alumni.   

“The university has more than 159,000 alumni around the world and an important element of the principal's role involves connecting with many them as well as forging new partnerships.”