Universities need to invest c. £17.3 billion to improve the quality of their residential estates There is a wide variation in quality of accommodation in UK universities, with c. 200,000 beds (or c. 60% of university bed stock) rated by SFG as either Quality C or D, meaning that investment is either imminently required or long past due. This broad estimate gives an indication of the magnitude of the problem facing universities, on top of the other current financial challenges. We can make some assumptions in order to reach a reasonable estimate of the likely required capital investment, and we detail these in Note ii in the Appendix. Table 2.3 shows that using these assumptions and applying them to UK university accommodation only (not private PBSA beds) we arrive at an estimate of £13.8 billion of investment required. This includes £8.0 billion for refurbishment of Quality C-rated accommodation and £5.8 billion to redevelop the Quality D-rated beds. This figure will apply to non- partnership beds only, as virtually all those delivered through partnerships with the private sector will attract a Quality rating of A or B, and thus do not generate an investment requirement. This broad estimate gives an indication of the magnitude of the problem facing universities, on top of the other current financial challenges. For a full- time student population of c. 2.3 million (in 2024/25), this represents a capital outlay of c. £6,000 per student to bring university accommodation in the UK up to a reasonable standard, and as we have shown, this is not evenly distributed across each university. If we make the further assumption that through redevelopment of the Quality D-rated beds, universities can increase the density by c. 60% and thus deliver a further c. 22,500 beds, c. 20% of which are in London, this would add a further c. £3.5 billion to the capital cost. Table 2.3 : Estimated total investment required across UK universities to address quality issues Quality band and approximate number of beds Investment per bed Totals Regional London A 17,800 - - - B 98,800 - - - C 166,900 £45,000 £52,500 £8.0bn to refurbish beds in Quality C D 37,600 £150,000 £175,000 £5.8bn to rebuild beds in Quality D £13.8bn total to address quality issues D 22,500 £150,000 £175,000 £3.5bn for additional new beds assuming re - development enables uplift in density £17.3bn total investment required Page 20 | SFG | Meeting demand for modernised university-owned accommodation