Four in 10 higher education institutions are expected to be in financial deficit this year, with smaller and specialist providers showing signs of recovery as some larger research- and teaching-intensive institutions appear to be in decline.
New figures from the Office for Students (OfS) show that the English higher education sector reported a small improvement in financial performance in 2024-25, with total sector income up by 2.7 per cent compared with the previous year, driven primarily by higher income from tuition fees and education contracts.
Separate data published at the same time by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (Hesa) show that combined income among higher education providers rose from £52.5 billion in 2023-24 to £53.9 billion in 2024-25, while their combined expenditure rose from £43.4 billion to £53.1 billion.
Lincoln Bishop and Coventry universities, as well as the universities of Bedfordshire and Derby, had some of the largest deficits as a percentage of their total income, according to this data.
Universities UK members with the largest deficits as a percentage of total income (excluding pension adjustment)
