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Divisional finances – June 2025

Mike Bonsall, Tracy Gale, Jeremy Sims and Jim Naismith

We heard at the finance seminar led by the VC and Simon Boddie that the University’s income growth is slowing but University costs are still growing. Although the University has £4.9bn of assets, almost all of the income from this is already earmarked. Given, the VC’s blog specifically mentions MPLS having financial challenges and a Council requirement for MPLS to achieve a surplus position, we thought we’d share the details on where MPLS are.

 

Without a sustainable and significant surplus, there are no funds for investment in our future (new buildings, additional group leaders in new opportunity areas, improved pay, and new scholarships). Whilst our reach must always exceed our grasp, robust surpluses will enable us to seize opportunities that are in plain sight. Deficits mean loss of opportunities, loss of control and decay of facilities. In short, deficits reduce our ability to shape the future.

 

“For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled”. At the start of 23-24 there were three financial realities: a large “red risk” financial MPLS deficit, a recovery plan assembled by the previous HoDiv Sam Howison (working with the divisional team and in partnership with every MPLS department), and transitional funding support from the other parts of the University to allow us the time to deliver the plan. In two years, by following our plan we have, together, more than halved the deficit (24-25). Next year (25-26) we are aiming for a cumulative ~ 85 % reduction in deficit (vs 22-23) and can contemplate surplus in 26-27. We have done this whilst still growing in delivery and ambition.

Eliminating the deficit NOW 0% -20% -40% -60% -80% -100% % of 2022/23 deficit 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 Reporting period -79% -72% -61% -48% -37% -14% Planned target Actual performance Now (2024/25 Q2) ORIGINAL TARGET: -37% by 2025/26 year end CURRENT: -48% of 2022/23 deficit AHEAD: 13% ahead of 2022 planned target

The credit belongs to all of you for your hard work to secure more income, manage costs and work collaboratively (exemplifying the spirt of partnership in MPLS and Oxford), to Sam for his vision, and to our colleagues from the other divisions who gave up money (and some of their plans) to help us. None of this is fun, nor is it easy, and the root cause - nearly twenty years of UK economic underperformance – has led to underinvestment by successive governments in science (research and teaching). However, if we are to keep our global lead in tomorrow’s science, all of us together must shift the division to sustainable significant surplus and this means changing how we do things. We are already doing it and in contrast to elsewhere our income has grown faster than our costs. In this, MPLS once again, is where the future happens. We are sure we can finish the job and get to a financially sustainable position, because of the other realities: many of the most brilliant researchers in their disciplines on the planet, the most dedicated teachers in any University we know of, exceptional professional staff (division and department), a deep collegiality, the most talented students in the world and a hard-earned reputation for excellence that is our shared University experience.