The 20 UK universities in the most financial trouble, based on their scary deficits

Universities across the UK are really struggling with money right now. Several unis are resorting to huge budget cuts, and loads of staff are on strike. The Office for Students estimates that in 2027, a whopping 114 unis and colleges could have a deficit. Yikes. So, here are the 20 UK unis in the most financial trouble at the moment, based on how much money they were short by in 2024.

Coventry University reported the largest deficit – a truly gigantic £60 million. Really. The uni’s annual report explains that management expected this, as they are in the process of “resizing our workforce to match the decline in student numbers in Coventry” to make the uni more financially viable in the future.

Middlesex University and Sheffield Hallam University also spent way more money than they earned in 2024. Middlesex Uni was out by £24 million, and Sheffield Hallam by £16 million. Staff at Sheffield Hallam are striking right now over management’s plans for £31 million of budget cuts.

Sheffield Hallam Uni, looking gloomy

The shortfalls for most of these unis are the total expenditures minus the total incomes from the 2023/2024 academic year, according to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). Coventry University, the University of Kent, and Middlesex University all filed their accounts late this year, so the figures for these unis are the deficits in the reports on their websites. The info for the University of Dundee is from an independent report into the uni’s finances (because that’s the level of mess it’s in).

So, here the 20 UK unis in the most financial trouble, ranked by how much money they were short by in 2024:

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20. Royal Agricultural University – £731,000

19. Southampton Solent University – £1,263,000

18. University of South Wales – £1,312,000

17. University of Winchester – £1,405,000

16. Arts University Bournemouth – £2,017,000

15. Leeds Beckett University – £2,798,000

This is part of Leeds Beckett Uni, not a creature from The Witcher
(Credit: Chemical Engineer)

14. University of Huddersfield – £2,804,000

13. St Mary’s University, Twickenham – £2,948,000

12. Cardiff Metropolitan University – £3,038,000

11. University of Lancashire (formerly the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan)) – £3,363,000

10. University of Greater Manchester (formerly the University of Bolton) – £4,071,000

9. Robert Gordon University – £6,151,000

8. University of Kent – £6,300,000

London South Bank Uni
(Credit: Desilentiorules)

7. London South Bank University – £8,008,000

6. Roehampton University – £8,584,000

5. University of Dundee – £14,200,000

4. University of the West of Scotland – £15,327,000

3. Sheffield Hallam University – £16,228,000

2. Middlesex University – £24,356,000

1. Coventry University – £60,077,000

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Featured image of Roehampton University by AndyScott.