Lincoln Bishop University is to formally become part of Global University Systems (GUS), it has announced, marking the effective privatisation of the public institution.
A new company, Lincoln Bishop University Limited, will be formed that sits within the wider Netherlands-based education group.
GUS – which owns and operates several other private education providers including the University of Law – has been involved with Lincoln Bishop for almost two years, initially providing it with a loan to help keep the institution afloat.
Questions had been raised about the relationship, which Lincoln Bishop had previously referred to as a “strategic alliance”, with some fearing that it represented a “takeover by stealth”.
The latest move is still subject to regulatory approval, and Lincoln Bishop said it has been in conversation with the Office for Students about achieving the full range of registrations for the new company, including degree-awarding powers and university title, on a like-for-like basis with those it currently holds.
