Cardiff University is one of the UK’s largest universities with an annual turnover in excess of £500m.

The past year has been financially challenging for the University. Our expenditure increased by 5.2% while our income only increased by 2.5%. We are addressing this by developing our Transforming Cardiff programme of change.

It is vital that we manage the financial risks we face in the future to ensure that the University remains strong, sustainable and able to deliver on its ambitious strategic objectives as set out in The Way Forward 2018-23.

Read our 2017/18 Annual Report and Financial Statements

Where our money comes from

Our total income for the period was £518m, an increase of £13m on the previous year.

However, our spending increased significantly resulting in an operating deficit of £22m, or £13m when other gains and losses are taken into account such as investment gains, which can be extremely volatile.

Our two main sources of income remain tuition fees, which saw an increase of £11m to £265m, and research grants, which increased by £5m to £106m, which was not as much as expected. The rest of our income comes from a variety of sources including funding council grants and student residences.

Analysis of 2017/18 income by category

What we spend our money on

In 2017/18, we spent £540m compared to overall spending of £514m the previous year, an increase of £26m.

The focus of our spending remains on teaching and research.

There have continued to be pressures on staff costs in the sector in relation to pay awards and other employer contributions.

Our staff costs were £308m in 2017/18 compared to £290m the previous year.

Analysis of 2017/18 spend by category