Financial health

With the ongoing austerity drive, the financial health of universities is a key consideration for developers of and investors in student housing.

Graph 8 shows how net income and surpluses have changed between the 2010-11 and 2011-12 academic years. Universities that have seen positive increases in income over the last year are the strongest performers whilst universities that have seen a fall in income are at greater risk but the majority have still managed to record a surplus during 2011-12.

Universities that have recorded a deficit during 2011-12, particularly when combined with falling net income are most at risk although this may be due to on-going improvements such as at the University of Reading.

Overall ranking

Using the combination of the measures discussed in this report we have constructed an overall ranking system of university towns and cities across the UK.

Those locations within the ‘First’ category offer the strongest demand for accommodation but competition may be strong while locations in the ‘Pass’ category are considered those weakest demand indicators, although there may be specific reasons why investment is still warranted.

Taken from
Spotlight: UK Student Housing