Lincoln Bishop private takeover ‘sign of an unhealthy system’

Lincoln Bishop University being taken over by Global University Systems (GUS) could push the institution into a more “generalist” approach to higher education, but some see it as a preferable alternative to “managed decline”.

The takeover, which will see the public institution in effect privatised, is believed to be the first of its kind and comes after GUS provided the university with a major loan after it went into deficit.

Neil Mosley, an independent higher education consultant, said the takeover in the short term “will secure the university’s future”, but it leaves questions over the “size, shape and focus of the university’s provision”.

He said LBU, which has been frequently voted the best in the UK for student experience, could now move towards becoming “a more generalist institution, with a focus on professional and vocational areas”.

“What we’ve seen, and what I think we’ll continue to see, is a diversification of its portfolio around a broader set of subject areas, particularly those with higher volumes of students,” he said. This could include online programmes, Mosley said, noting the university made its first move into the online market in 2025 after launching numerous online master’s programmes and an MBA.

“There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but it does feel as though it reflects a depressing lack of imagination and an orthodoxy about how you respond to the current challenges and build a sustainable university. It is also indicative of something of an obsession with scale.”

This was not only being driven by the private sector, but also within public universities, Mosley said. “The challenges the sector faces are real, and not easy for universities to navigate, but the risk of everyone pursuing the same path to alleviate them is that it is likely to intensify pressure and increase the risk of contraction.”

Hugh Jones, a higher education consultant and former chief operating officer at Cardiff University, said he was “disappointed but not surprised” by the news that a public university had been taken over.

“It’s going to be hard to reconcile the kind of values and purposes of a university as it moves into a for-profit environment,” he said.

Jones added that despite the takeover, the university will still have to address the underlying causes that resulted in it falling into deficit, and that the institution may need to focus on developing courses that attract students, even if this means a departure from the university’s original focus.

“It’s a sign of an unhealthy system that universities are being pushed to this extreme. I’m certain the governors at Lincoln Bishop did not think five years ago, ‘I know what, let’s go down a pathway which ends in us being sold to a private company’. I’m sure they didn’t do that. They found themselves in this position because it was the option which remained through a series of decisions, each of which would have seemed good at the time.”

However, Diana Beech, director of the Finsbury Institute at City St George’s, University of London, argued that the announcement was an example of “institutional innovation at a time when many parts of the UK higher education sector are searching for sustainable futures”. 

“It certainly demonstrates that there can be alternatives to managed decline when universities are prepared to think creatively about partnerships and new ownership models,” Beech said. 

“In the absence of significant new government investment across the country, it is likely that more institutions will be forced to explore mergers, acquisitions or strategic partnerships as a means of securing their long-term sustainability. However, for such arrangements to be viable, they must offer a route to preserving institutional mission, protecting student opportunity and maintaining universities’ contribution to local economies and communities”.

The move “may pave the way for larger public-private partnerships”, but Beech added these “are unlikely to be a universal solution” as the takeover is “highly specific to the institution”.

“It remains to be seen how commercial priorities will be balanced with academic values, particularly in relation to university governance and strategic decision-making. That balance will be crucial in determining whether this becomes a credible model for others to follow.”

Union members remain unconvinced. Jo Grady, general secretary of the University and College Union, said that Lincoln Bishop “is more than just a name”, and that its priority will be to ensure “a focus on, and investment in, our members’ terms and working conditions, in the student experience, and the distinctive educational mission” of the institution.

A spokesperson for Lincoln Bishop said its agreement with GUS will allow it to draw on the company’s global network and expertise.

“The university will remain an autonomous institution, retaining its ethos, values and responsibility for its academic standards, while benefiting from investment and international expertise as part of the GUS global network,” they added.

The university’s strategy and vision remains “firmly rooted” in its “proud 160-year history as an educational provider” and it will continue “to build on existing strengths by creating parallel pathways for professional occupations in the public sector and beyond”.

 juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com