Governors from London Guildhall University and the University of North London dined with Sir Howard Newby, chief executive of the Higher Education Funding Council for England, on Monday.
An LGU spokesman said the dinner, held at the rather grand Institute of Directors, was "an informal get-together". But staff believe it was more a last-ditch attempt by UNL governors - who are keen on the proposed merger of the two institutions - to get the less impressed LGU governors on-side.
Meanwhile, draft financials for the merger business plan show a post-merger deficit for two years - until "restructuring funding" is taken into account. The draft posits nearly £10 million of such funding over four years, taking the new institution comfortably into the black. But whether this funding signifies further redundancies, we know not.