University Financial Performance 2021-22

We’ve now shared with the University Council our annual accounts for the financial year ending 31 July 2022. They are available to read online.

We are pleased to report a strong financial performance despite a challenging operating environment resulting from the Covid pandemic and worsening inflationary cost pressures. Our financial result is an underlying surplus of £85.1m, noting though that adverse impacts from the USS pension scheme valuation (see below) mean that an overall deficit of £93.2m is recorded. This strong performance is underpinned by exceptional levels of student recruitment and lower than planned expenditure, in part due to ongoing covid restrictions during the first half of the year.

Here is an overview of our financial performance for 2021/22 in more detail:

• Student recruitment significantly exceeded original expectations, though the increase was almost entirely concentrated within Warwick Business School and the Department of Economics. Academic departments also benefited from a larger than expected research block grant from UKRI.
• Expenditure was lower than expected, and therefore generated savings. In academic departments this was mostly in non-pay areas, with covid restrictions again reducing spend on certain activities such as travel. Non-pay savings were also experienced in other areas such as professional services, though some of this is just delayed spend which will be incurred in 2022/23.
• There have also been some difficulties in filling staff vacancies in certain areas across the University, reflecting the challenging staff recruitment market in the wider UK economy.
• Some commercial activities (notably campus retail outlets and the Warwick Arts Centre) fell short of original surplus targets with covid restrictions and ongoing reduced campus ‘footfall’ impacting on sales. Student accommodation also saw shortfalls in income with more void rooms than in the past.
• As anticipated, the completion of the 2020 USS pension valuation during the 2021/22 financial year has resulted in a large increase the University’s liability for deficit contributions. The £178.3m increase in liability (from £104.4m to £282.7m) is accounted as a cost in our 2021/22 results, turning our underlying surplus of £85.1m into a reported deficit of £93.2m. However, we are required to pay this deficit over several years and have budgeted for the cash impact; the University is therefore able to maintain its long-term financial sustainability. There is much speculation about the possible outcome of USS’s March 2023 valuation but this is unlikely to impact our annual accounts until 31 July 2024 as we are only permitted to account for the agreed contribution rates as decided by the Trustees.

Overall, the year-end result is a very positive outcome. All surpluses are retained to use for the University’s charitable purposes. We have been able to make a further ‘Thank you’ payment to staff as an additional reward for their achievements in exceptional circumstances and to offer extra help to our staff on lower salary bands, we’ll be making a cost of living payment of £550 to full time, eligible salaried employees on Grades 1a-5. The average pay increase since 31 July 2022 across our total staff population, including the Thank You payment, the announced Cost of Living payment and incremental progression, will be around 7%. The good financial performance also strengthens the University’s financial sustainability and supports our plans to invest in our campus with funds being set aside for student spaces and our other strategic initiatives, including the STEM and Social Sciences Grand Challenges.

Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31st July 2022

Full archive of financial statements

This includes copies of the Statutory Accounts from the first 50 years, which were made available online as part of the University's 50th Anniversary.

Financial information for students