UK universities’ income up as outgoings also rise

The total income of UK higher education increased by more than £2.4 billion last year, but expenditure was also up by £2.6bn.

According to data published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency, UK institutions brought in £38.2bn in 2017-18, compared with £35.8bn in 2016-17. Over the same period, expenditure increased from £34.6bn to £37.2bn. This means that last year, UK higher education recorded a total surplus of just over £1bn.

Some 54 per cent of expenditure was allocated to staff costs, while interest and other finance costs totalled £0.8bn, or 2 per cent of total spending. A total of £36.5 million was spent on capital expenditure across institutions.