Funding cuts may be having an impact on the support universities can provide for commercialisation and community engagement, experts believe, after drops in the number of new spin-out companies and public events.
shows that 5,111 new spin-outs and start-up companies were registered across the sector in the last academic year. This was down from a peak of 5,281 in 2022-23 and the first annual fall since 2018-19.
Of those newly registered, 93 per cent were student start-ups, 3 per cent were social enterprises, 2 per cent were spin-outs with some provider ownership, and 1 per cent were started by staff.
“While there has been a slight decline in graduate-led businesses over the past year, it is relatively minor compared to the consistent and substantial growth seen in previous years,” Rosalind Gill, head of policy and engagement at the National Centre for Universities and Business (NCUB), told Times Higher Education.
“Nonetheless, we should take note of this trend and ensure that we are providing all the support necessary for graduates to contribute to the economy in this important way.”
As funding becomes increasingly stretched, Gill warned that providing the necessary advice and support to start-up companies may become more challenging.
While the Russell Group was responsible for around a fifth of the total of new companies, the institutions producing the most spin-outs and start-ups might not be expected.
The University of the Arts London registered the most student start-ups in 2023-24 (493), followed by the University of East London (218) and the Royal College of Art (177).
In comparison, the University of Oxford produced just 20 spin-outs and start-ups last year but it generated over ?873 million in external investment.
And according to a recent report by Beauhurst, Oxford is responsible for more spin-outs than any other UK institution between 2011 and 2025.
That report also found that the average stake taken by UK universities has dropped sharply after a review warned that private investment was being stifled.
The new figures, which come from the Higher Education – Business and Community Interaction survey, also show the smallest increase in the number of active firms since comparable records began in 2014-15.
But spin-outs employed the equivalent of 115,000 full-time employees in 2023-24 – almost three times as many as a decade previously.
Andrea Taylor, chief executive of Edinburgh Innovations,?the University of Edinburgh’s commercialisation service, said universities can increase the number of staff and student companies through funding, training and culture.
“Universities must also back their founders from the bottom up, and that means with training and comprehensive commercialisation support, and with money on the table.”
Taylor said a further increase in proof-of-concept funding from government would also be “extremely welcome” in helping founders bridge the difficult early stages.
Along with funding concerns affecting spin-outs, the Hesa?data suggests it is also having an impact on community engagement and public events.
shows that academics spent a total of 49,122 days helping to run exhibitions, performance arts and public lectures in 2023-24, which was 3 per cent less than the year before.
About 72 per cent of these in-person and digital events were free – up from 66 per cent in 2014-15.
While art and drama institutions were more likely to charge for their events, many top universities host them for free. Over half a million people attended King’s College London events in 2023-24 – all of them without charge.
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