Strathclyde University has put its £380,000-a-year principal’s official residence up for sale amid rumours of financial The based university put Sir Jim McDonald’s townhouse on the market earlier this month for £1.3million. The sum is close to what was paid for the property in 2013 before giving it a controversial £350,000 makeover.
At the time of the officials claimed it would be a “long-term investment” but it is now believed the property is being sold due to increasing financial pressures, reports the A report from accountancy giant PwC warned falling international student numbers and rising wage bills have left universities facing a perfect storm. It said 10 of Scotland’s 15 universities are at risk of falling into a financial deficit by 2027. A source said: “The principal’s townhouse now looks like an extravagant purchase which can no longer be justified.
It’s a beautiful property and eye-watering sums were spent on furnishings and renovation at the time. "There are a number of other teaching buildings in the city which are being mothballed. The university is adamant this is nothing to do with financial pressure but everyone knows that costs have to be cut because the money just isn’t coming in like it was 10 years ago when Strathclyde and others embarked on major new building programmes.
"The problem is that for various reasons – Brexit being the most obvious one – there is not the same volume of foreign students arriving to pay high fees fo.