UCL to fund expansion through 'largest ever' European Investment Bank loan to university

It has agreed a 30-year loan for £280 million with University College London (UCL), which the university will use to fund an "ambitious" upgrade and expansion programme. The university plans to invest £1.25 billion into its 'Transforming UCL' programme over the next 10 years, to include modernising the facilities at its existing Bloomsbury site as well as construction of its new UCL East campus at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, east London.

Banking law experts at Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, provided legal advice to UCL on the loan.

"We are pleased to have played a part in the latest UCL project to obtain this significant funding package, having worked with and advised UCL on various mergers in the past," said Edward Sunderland. "This funding will help UCL secure its strategic 2034 vision, and it's been a pleasure to be part of the process."

The latest loan agreement takes the total extended to UK universities by the EIB since 2010 to over £2.1bn, according to a statement on its website. The EIB has now supported investment at 30 universities across the UK. Projects backed by EIB investment include new research facilities in Oxford and Edinburgh, research and teaching facilities in Newcastle, Birmingham, Hull and Lincoln and the new Technology and Innovation Hub at the University of Strathclyde.

UCL plans to spend £740m upgrading its Bloomsbury campus, to include refurbishing and expanding its Bartlett School of Architecture and building a new student centre. The first phase of its new UCL East campus is due to open during the 2019/20 academic year and will form part of a wider, government-supported "education and cultural quarter".

"Supporting Britain's world-class universities is crucial to the success of our economy, and this significant investment by the EU's bank, the largest sum ever given to a university, is set to transform UCL's two campuses," said Jim O'Neill, commercial secretary to the UK Treasury.

"This £280m loan will help grow [UCL's] world-leading research and teaching facilities, building on the millions of pounds worth of investment already secured from the European Investment Fund. It is a strong example of the benefits that money from the EIB can bring to support our leading universities across the country," he said.

The EIB has already committed to support a £50m UCL investment fund, which launched earlier this year and which the institution intends to use to support academics whose research has "commercial potential".