Financial Summary

Information to show how we are funded and where we invest our income.

Vision and Strategy to 2030

During 2024, work commenced on shaping a new Vision and Strategy to 2030, building on the successes of the 2025 Strategy. A comprehensive consultation process was undertaken involving students, staff and external stakeholders. This process confirmed that the identity and ethos of Wrexham University as a confident and growing modern university are a powerful asset to cherish, even as we develop a new set of strategic goals and ambitions. Our core purpose will continue to be to help transform individuals and communities, from our region and beyond, through higher education with a clear focus on professionalism and employability. This is relevant throughout the major strands of our portfolio in Health, STEM, the Social Sciences, Business and the Creative Industries. Close collaboration with industry and community partners, as well as other educational bodies, is central to our strategic direction. This is further underpinned by our pioneering civic mission work in the region, which sets the standard in the Welsh higher education sector.

Where our money comes from

During 23/24, the University Group grew its total income to £62.2m, an increase on £50.9m in the previous year.

• Tuition fees and education contracts:      77%
• Funding body grants:                             11%
• Research Grant and Contracts:                1%
• Other income:                                       11%

Tuition Fees and Education Contracts

The University’s main source of revenue continues to be derived from tuition fees and education contracts where there was a continued increase in Tuition Fee income up from £37.1m in 22/23 to £47.8m in 2023/24, largely relating to the second-year cohort of students enrolled on Nursing and Allied Health courses commissioned by HEIW.

Funding Body Grants

Medr – The Commission for Tertiary Education and Research (formerly Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, (HEFCW) provides funding to the University for a variety of initiatives including a capital grant which was used to fund campus improvements relating to the Science and Engineering Quarter and will continue in 2024/25.

Research Grants and Contracts

This includes research grants from UK governments, other public sector bodies, charities and industry. Research income has reduced although a number of exciting UKRI grants secured will start to see increased income levels in the next few years.

Other Income

This includes income from residences, catering, conferences, non-research grants and contracts, capital grants, investments and donations.

Where our money is spent

For the 23/24 financial year, how the University spent its income is detailed below:

The University’s main expenditure is on direct teaching and continues to invest in teaching and learning to deliver value to our students as well as in a range of other areas that benefits and supports students and enhances the student experience.

Wrexham University Students’ Union: The University contributed £485,000 to help support the running of the Students’ Union. As part of the NSS (National Student Survey), the Student Union was ranked joint first in Wales.

One-off additional cost for 2023/24: The University aims to only spend at levels which are within the income it has generated during the year and there were no abnormal one-off items to report in 2023/24.

Investment in our campuses and estates

• Student facilities / Campus 2025 and Infrastructure:                 £7.30m
• Science and Discovery Centre: (funded by external grant)        £0.71m
• Research Equipment:                                                                  £0.07m

Our campuses and estates are central to the operational effectiveness of our university and the experience of staff and students alike; it plays a critical role in ensuring that a university can meet the many demands placed on it.  As the higher education sector adapts to a new and more competitive environment, the role and purpose of the estate as a potential competitive advantage has also increased.

The University has continued with its ambitious Campus 2025 plans as part of our desire to improve the quality of resources available to our learners and during the year, the Medr (previously HEFCW) capital grant was used to fund campus improvements relating to the Science and Engineering Quarter, which will continue in 2024/25. The phase 2A works in the Health Education Innovation Quarter (HEIQ) were completed in year with further developments of phase 2B including construction of a new purpose-built building containing state-of-the-art technical facilities to supplement the Healthcare Simulation, planned for 2024/25.

Wynne Construction won the tender to build the new £13m Enterprise, Engineering and Optics Centre on the Plas Coch campus (the EEOC) and the first sod was turned in February. The construction of this landmark building funded by the North Wales Ambition Board is already well under way and on track for delivery in autumn 2025. It is the biggest North Wales Growth Deal project implemented to date, which will underpin employment and research in the advanced manufacturing sector in the region. In addition to the construction costs at Plas Coch, £1.4m will be spent on cutting-edge equipment. £1.7m is also to be spent on refurbishments and equipment at the St Asaph Campus. The North Wales Ambition Board is funding the majority of these works (£11.55m) with the University contributing £1.7m towards the project total of £13.25m.

The self-funded Cyber Innovation Academy was also completed in year, offering exciting experiential learning to students and external partners. This facility was opened in July 2024.

The Biomechanics and Performance Sciences Lab was also completed during 2024 and contains state-of-the-art facilities, offering our students the chance to develop specialist employability skills using equipment from applied settings that are common in elite sport.

Several minor capital projects were completed with a spend of £0.25m including improvements to connectivity and AV/projection equipment to a number of study areas around the campus and upgrades to the seating and study pods within the library.

Investment in digital and IT infrastructure

One of the key deliverables for efficiencies and effectiveness is to ensure that our investment in IT infrastructure is exploited efficiently and effectively. The University continued to implement IT-related projects, including the installation of the new Aruba Local Area Network (LAN) Equipment at Plas Coch & Regent Street Campuses to improve Wi-Fi connectivity for all users at a cost of £0.43m. Improvements continue to be made to the Student Information Management System (SITS) and the HR Management System (iTrent) with the launch of the new PDR Review Form. The Remote Desktop Service Homework4 was replaced by a more user-friendly and stable VPN system.

The new INFORM Service Desk Portal was launched to enable issues and requests with the Information Services Department to be raised through the portal replacing the method of emailing the central email address.

An upgrade to the Estates and Facilities Management System has been completed and delivered with training as required.

These will deliver efficiencies, process effectiveness as well as enhance student learning through digital implementations.

Investment in Research 

During the 23/24 reporting period, the University was successful in obtaining £0.400m of research grants and contracts income.

In the 2023-24 period, funded research from the Cyfiawnder Research Institute has included Improvement Cymru to review the current evidence on national care models and frameworks providing care for children and young people with learning disabilities in Wales. The Learned Society of Wales and ACE Hub Wales funding was secured to explore the value of peer-to-peer support and supervision for police dealing with difficult situations and experiences of vicarious trauma. The Cyfiawnder Institute works closely with Figure 8 Consultancy and other UK institutions to research alcohol and other drugs and in the last 12 months Wrexham University has also secured funding from the Welsh Government, Public Health Wales and the World Health Organisation. Some projects in this portfolio include Evidence into Action Alcohol Project, Evaluation of Buvidal, and Minimum Unit Pricing.

Wrexham University School of Art has continued to work on two UKRI-funded projects to establish the Ecological Citizens Network Plus to promote sustainable change through the digital economy. Another project led by the University of Cambridge and funded by the AHRC will create a Community Open Map Platform for future generations to chart the green transition on Anglesey.

Researchers at Wrexham University have secured a consortium research project working with other UK institutions and industry partners to investigate novel flat fibre sensors. This £2.2 million EPSRC project, secured earlier this year, will continue for three years, demonstrating our commitment to collaborative research in this area. Our Engineering researchers have also secured SMART innovation funding to continue the development and technology readiness level of ‘The Fast Fan’.

During the year, funding has been secured from national research councils and government bodies to further our Sustainability and Health & Wellbeing research themes.

Investment in the Community - Civic Mission Strategy

Our Civic Mission was created and developed working with many partners across North Wales and has been truly co-created around the challenges that matter most in our society and is focused on working in partnership to end social inequality in North Wales by 2030. Our commitment to our civic mission is reflected in

our strong participation in the Wrexham Gateway Partnership, the North Wales Growth Deal, the Regional Skills Partnership and the Mersey Dee alliance. Crucially, our approach centres around being flexible and agile, to ensure that we can best respond to the challenges facing our communities and partners, such as the cost-of-living crisis and the climate emergency, to deliver impactful and wide-reaching place-based change.

Examples of the activities we have been involved in, led and enabled across the region through our Civic Mission Partnership Strategy include:

• Securing over £0.800m of Medr (previously HEFCW) funding to roll out the Children’s University project across North Wales – engaging 51 schools across North Wales with 1,115 young people supported through the project. 616 young people gained 30 hours of extracurricular activity and graduated from the North Wales Children’s University.
• As part of the NWCU 2023/24 pilot, we worked in partnership with Menter Mon and Dylan’s Restaurants to deliver Wellbeing Boxes with fresh ingredients and recipes, to almost 900 families across North Wales, providing support during the cost-of-living crisis.
• Continuing to develop our approach to becoming a TrACE (Trauma and Adverse Childhood Experiences)-informed institution.
• Working with Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board and developing on the 100 Stories Project - a Bevan Commission Exemplar, which has supported further understanding of experiences of healthcare in the region through the method of storytelling.

Effective support services

A core activity is the provision of education services to students and the research programmes undertaken by academics. 

Value for money in this context is therefore about an efficient operating model and in keeping administration and overhead costs low. It should however be borne in mind that ‘admin costs’ include functions such as finance, human resources and IT services, student recruitment and admissions, without which it would not be possible for the University to function. 

The level of admin costs as a proportion of the University’s expenditure has remained at 17.3% for a second year and continues to deliver effective support services.

The University is committed to attracting, developing, engaging and retaining the best staff. Through implementation of our People Strategy, we endeavour to provide staff with relevant opportunities to continuously develop their personal and professional skills to enable them to make a positive contribution to the University’s vision and strategic objectives.

Financial statements

The financial statements provide information to give a true and fair view of both the University's financial performance and its financial position at the year-end. View financial statements here.