Revealed: Nine Russell Group unis spent on restructuring last year – Queen’s Belfast at £25.4m

Nine Russell Group universities spent a combined £103m on restructuring costs in 2024-25, with Queen’s University Belfast recording the highest figure at £25.4m, according to HESA data.

Cardiff University, which recorded a £33.4m deficit last year, spent £24.3m on restructuring “in relation to a voluntary severance
and redundancy scheme.”

Liverpool spent £13.1m on what its financial statements describe as “restructuring costs linked to the voluntary leavers scheme.” Durham, meanwhile, paid £11.9m into its own voluntary severance scheme.

Other Russell Group universities that spent on restructuring are Nottingham at £11.3m, Exeter at £10m, Queen Mary at £4.8m, Imperial at £1.5m and Manchester at £1m.

Restructuring costs cover expenditure incurred as a result of significant organisational changes, which may include redundancy and severance payments.

Queen’s University Belfast, which spent the most on restructuring of all Russell Group universities last year, acknowledged the costs in its financial report, explaining it launched a voluntary severance scheme in the context of the economic challenges faced by the higher education sector.

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Newcastle, Cambridge and Leeds are among the Russell Group universities which did not incur restructuring costs despite recording a deficit at the end of last academic year. Leeds, for example, recorded an £8.3 million deficit, while Cambridge and Newcastle had an £8 million and £3 million deficit respectively.

Here are the total restructuring costs for nine Russell Group universities in 2024-25, according to HESA. While the University of Nottingham does not feature in HESA’s data, the equivalent figure has been pulled directly from its financial report.

1. Queen’s University Belfast – £25.4m
2. Cardiff University – £24.3m
3. University of Liverpool – £13.1m
4. Durham University – £11.9m
5. University of Nottingham – £11.3m
6. University of Exeter – £10m
7. Queen Mary University of London – £4.8m
8. Imperial College London – £1.5m
9. University of Manchester – £1m

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Featured image via Wikimedia Commons