The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has provided a financing
package to fund the development of the University of Warwick's
campus and student facilities.
The funding will be used towards the further development of the
university's campus through the construction of new academic and
student facilities, as well as new accommodation. The university
plans to double the number of postgraduate research students by
2014 and over the next three years will be building new
accommodation facilities, adding over 1,000 new student
rooms.
The deal with RBS is the first of its kind to have been done
through the European Investment Bank's (EIB) new £500m
knowledge economy fund. RBS is a key partner of the EIB in
distributing the fund, which provides discounted finance packages
for higher and further education facilities, science parks and
incubation centres.
The University of Warwick is one of the UK's leading
universities, with an acknowledged reputation for excellence in
research, innovation and teaching and for its links with business
and industry. By 2015 Warwick aims to be one of the top 50
universities in the world. It currently has over 21,000
students and employs around 5,000 staff.
Professor Nigel Thrift, vice-chancellor of the University of
Warwick, said: "The University of Warwick has arisen from being
nothing but farmland in the 1960s to become one of the UK's top 10
research-led universities. This agreement with RBS enables us to
make even more investment in our campus and the student experience.
In particular it will assist in the creation of over 1,000 new
student rooms to help meet the high demand for places on both our
undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes."
Stewart Ward, head of education sector, RBS Corporate &
Institutional Banking, said: "We're delighted to be able to provide
this funding to the University of Warwick. We've worked with
the university over a number of months to tailor a solution that
was innovative and fit for purpose, and it's very exciting for us
to use the new EIB fund to provide this facility. This deal, and
the fact that the EIB have entrusted us as one of their few
partners for their new fund, highlights our commitment to
supporting higher education institutions and their very specific
requirements. This sets a new precedent for how higher education
institutions are funded and we look forward to using this fund to
structure more transactions for them."
Kim Paterson, senior relationship director, RBS Corporate &
Institutional Banking, added: "The University of Warwick is not
only a major employer in the West Midlands but it contributes a
huge amount to the talent pool in the region. Its programme of
further campus development will ensure that it continues to set
standards in excellence academically and in the overall quality of
the student experience it provides. We are really pleased to
support the university with this project."