Higher power: how is the universities sector shaping up?

By Jordan Marshall2019-09-09T05:00:00

Higher education overview 6 september 2019 shutterstock_478513852

The universities and higher education sector is as vulnerable as any to fluctuating demand — but it still has billions every year to spend on its buildings

£3.5bn. That’s the annual capital expenditure at UK universities, according to the Association of University Directors of Estates (AUDE). And that sort of money makes it a market that architects and construction firms are keen to operate in. According to AUDE, about a quarter of the total university estate has been built since the year 2000, meaning that for a significant period of time it has been a haven of secure pipelines in the tumultuous world of construction.

So is the university sector a gift for construction that just keeps on giving or is the market about to shrink? Here we look at future challenges as well as big clients with promising pipelines of work.

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