Legal firms are advising colleges to sell surplus buildings and land in the next 18 months before a possible change in the rules on what they can do with the proceeds.
Eversheds Sutherland and Bates Wells, which represents more than 110 colleges in England, has told its clients they “might want to consider” quickly offloading any under-utilised assets ahead of a reclassification review in March 2025.
There are concerns that the review, which will be led by the Department for Education, could result in profits from land sales going to the government. Currently, colleges can retain any surplus cash they make from land sales and can use it in a variety of different ways, such as paying down debts.
“If there are surplus assets, colleges might want to consider whether or not they dispose of those assets prior to March 2025,” Nathan Lucas, principal associate at Eversheds Sutherland told FE Week.
