The Financial Summary provides an overview of the income and expenditure at City, University of London.
The 2020/21 reported financial operating performance results for City show an operating deficit of £6.2M:
| Reported operating surplus 2020/21 | £M |
|---|---|
| Income | 246.4 |
| Expenditure | 252.6 |
| Operating deficit | (6.2) |
This year’s reported operating performance results were again skewed by large accounting adjustments relating to the movements on pension provisions for our two pension schemes (USS and LPFA).
These are outside of City’s control and influence and do not reflect our operational or cash generating performance.
These movements totalled £11.2M and removing these accounting adjustments indicates that we made an operating surplus of £1.2M:
| Adjusted operating surplus 2020/21 | £M |
|---|---|
| Income | 246.5 |
| Expenditure (excluding movement on pension provisions) | 245.3 |
| Operating surplus (excluding movement on pension provisions) | 1.2 |
These results are more reflective of our operational performance and are the key lines we refer to when we report our financial performance.
Income £246.5M - Expenditure £245.3M = Operating surplus £1.2M
Where our income came from in 2020/21
- Fees and education contracts: £195.4M, 79%
- Funding body grants: £25.0M, 10%
- Research grants and contracts: £11.3M, 5%
- Other income, including donations and investment income: £14.8M, 6%
Total income: £246.5M.
How our income is spent
As a City, University of London student, we want to let you know how the University invests its income to support you throughout your time here.
The majority of our income comes from fees and education contracts and this, along with our other income, is used in a number of ways to deliver your educational experience.
People and places
The people who work here and the estate itself are essential to keeping the University running, and these are two of the key areas where we spend our income.
We employ a fantastic team of staff to support you throughout your time at City, which includes the academics who teach your classes, the administrative staff in Schools, staff in the many support and development services such as Careers and the Student Centre and those who you may not come into contact with, but are important to ensuring the University operates effectively, such as HR and Finance. Staff pay makes up a significant amount of the spend on ‘education’ which you’ll see in the wheels below.
City’s campuses are over 125 years old, so a significant amount of our income is spent on ‘estates’ -maintaining our buildings and developing the campus to make sure it is fit for students and staff. This includes a range of things from cleaning costs and electricity, to new building projects such as the Sebastian Street Law School building.
What our income was spent on in 2020/21
- People: £148.8M, 61%
- Operating costs and depreciation: £96.5M, 39%
Total expenditure: £245.3 million
How money was spent in 2020/21
- Academics in Schools: 31%
- Paying salaries for the Academic staff who teach your classes and carry out world-leading research.
- Student services in Schools: 11%
- Paying salaries for staff who help run the Schools and support you, such as Course Officers.
- School administration: 4%
- Providing the resources needed to support teaching, such as course materials and examinations.
- Research and Enterprise: 8%
- Supporting high quality research and enterprise activities through funding research projects and supporting PhD students.
- Student services: 6%
- Providing guidance and development opportunities to enhance your experience throughout your student journey. This includes support services such as the Student Centre and Mental Health, Counselling and Neurodiversity team, as well as activities from teams in Learning Support and Careers, Student Development and Outreach, such as careers fairs, volunteering, mentoring and study skills workshops.
- Library: 3%
- Providing books, journals and subscriptions to support your studies, along with the staff to help you find and access the resources you need.
- Marketing and Recruitment: 4%
- Promoting City and providing information for prospective and current students and staff. This includes maintaining City’s website, producing marketing materials and delivering Graduation, alongside recruitment activities, such as attending universities fairs and hosting open days.
- Fundraising and Alumni: 1%
- Maintaining and developing relationships with partners who donate to the University and staying in contact with our alumni to offer support and learn about their achievements.
- IT: 8%
- Ensuring we have excellent IT services to deliver teaching and research. This includes supporting the IT network, providing equipment for students and staff and ongoing investment in new IT services and products.
- Estates: 17%
- Maintaining and developing City’s campuses to ensure they remain fit for purpose. This includes regular day-to-day costs such cleaning, catering and timetabling, development projects for new and renovated buildings and spaces and our Sustainability work (which saw us awarded greenest university in London in the People and Planet University League).
- University oversight and corporate governance: 2%
- Covering costs associated with operating as a University. This includes salaries for our senior management team,Strategic Planning, Office for Students terms and conditions of registration and our share of the UCAS costs.
- HR and people management: 2%
- Recruiting and developing our excellent teams of staff who lead on key initiatives, including our Equality and Diversity agenda.
- Finance and Commercial: 3%
- Covering activities associated with our Finance and Commercial teams, as required in all large organisations, including procurement, legal services and insurance. This also includes debt servicing.