UK University Mergers and Sector Renewal
University mergers can protect educational capacity and create room for investment. Their success depends on the academic, operational and cultural decisions that follow the transaction.
By Dr Tola Adesina, CEO of Plethro
I welcome the willingness of UK universities to consider mergers and new group structures. Well conceived consolidation can strengthen institutions, preserve educational opportunity and create the capacity to invest. The benefits are substantial enough to deserve serious consideration, even when the decisions involved are difficult.
Kent and Greenwich have moved that discussion into practice. Their merger has created the London and South East University Group, known as LASE, while retaining the universities' individual identities. The group officially launched on 7 September 2026. King's College London and Cranfield, meanwhile, have proposed a merger with an intended start in August 2027. These are different models at different stages, and should be assessed on their own terms.
My perspective is shaped by university leadership, including my time as Associate Provost for Global Engagement at the University of Derby, and by my work advising higher education institutions through Plethro. I approach a merger by asking what the combined institution will be able to do better for its students, staff and communities, and what it will take to deliver that improvement.
The benefits extend beyond financial savings
Shared procurement, estates planning and professional services can release resources for teaching and research. Combining complementary disciplines can support new courses, strengthen employer relationships and make facilities available to a wider academic community. A stronger institution may also be better placed to sustain provision that would be vulnerable if each university acted alone.
There is already a practical example at LASE. The group has announced that students can access libraries and request student support across its four campuses. That is an early, tangible benefit against which the wider promise of integration can be judged.
The proposed King's and Cranfield merger illustrates another rationale: bringing specialist engineering, technology and management capabilities together with the breadth of a larger university. City and St George's, which merged in August 2024, provide a further example of consolidation organised around complementary academic strengths and professional education.
These developments give the sector permission to think more broadly about institutional form. A university's mission can endure within a different organisational structure. Preserving access, expertise and educational quality should carry considerable weight when leaders weigh that choice.
The business case must survive implementation
I would nevertheless be cautious about a merger case dominated by headline savings. Integration consumes money and management attention before it delivers efficiencies. Systems may need to run in parallel. Staff need time to redesign services. Decisions about course portfolios can affect recruitment, professional accreditation and relationships with local employers.
A credible business case should therefore show when each benefit will arise, who will deliver it and what must happen first. It should allow for implementation costs and slower progress. It should also show which educational capabilities the institution intends to protect, even where they do not produce the largest immediate financial return.
A course that appears duplicated across two campuses may serve different communities. A proposed central service may be efficient on paper but difficult for students to access. Two similarly named academic committees may exercise very different powers. These details can materially change the plan.
Staff and students must have meaningful opportunities to shape that work. Their knowledge helps leaders identify dependencies that a transaction timetable can miss. Trust also affects whether people stay, contribute and help the new institution function. It belongs in the implementation plan from the outset.
Why specialist higher education advisers matter
This is where I believe boutique specialist firms with direct higher education experience can make a particular contribution. Familiarity with the sector's financial indicators is useful. Experience of how universities actually make and implement decisions adds a different kind of value.
An adviser needs to understand the interaction between governing bodies and academic governance, the work required to change a programme, the responsibilities attached to a university award, and the operational demands of partnership delivery. Those issues influence both the feasibility of a merger and the timetable for achieving its benefits.
Legal, financial and other technical specialists remain essential. The higher education specialist's role is to connect those workstreams to the academic purpose and operating reality of the institution. For example, a proposed contract transfer needs to be considered alongside continuity of delivery, student communications and the capacity of the team that will manage the relationship.
The advantage of a boutique model is the opportunity for sustained involvement by senior practitioners who understand those connections. The test is the experience of the people doing the work and their ability to remain involved through implementation. A firm's size alone proves very little.
At Plethro, that relationship between educational purpose and commercial delivery sits at the centre of our advisory approach. Our M&A and strategic transformation work brings sector understanding into the assessment of opportunities, due diligence, governance design and integration planning.
Judge success over the years after completion
Boards should agree early how they will judge the outcome. Financial resilience matters, alongside student experience, staff retention, academic quality and the institution's contribution to its region. Those measures should remain visible after the transaction team has completed its work.
I believe the current willingness to explore university mergers is positive for UK higher education. It creates opportunities to sustain capacity and invest with greater confidence. Delivering those benefits requires leaders and advisers who can carry the academic mission through the practical decisions of integration.
Plethro supports higher education institutions considering mergers, strategic partnerships and organisational transformation. Explore our advisory services or contact us to discuss the opportunities and implications for your institution.
About the author
Dr Tola Adesina is CEO of Plethro and a former Associate Provost for Global Engagement at the University of Derby. He advises higher education institutions on strategic growth, partnerships, governance and international expansion.
