UK University–business collaboration stalls

New figures from the annual survey tracking how universities work with businesses and communities paint a mixed picture.

Headline findings from the 2024–25 data: 

• Knowledge exchange income - covering the full range of collaboration between universities, businesses and communities - reached £6.1 billion - broadly flat in real terms and representing a 1.4% decline following last year’s modest growth.  

  
  

• University–business collaboration income - a narrower metric, which focuses on consulting, contracting, and facilities services for commercial businesses - fell by 3.7% in real terms. The number of interactions also remained largely unchanged at 81,094, a slight decline of 0.5%. 

  
  

• Spinout performance remained a bright spot, with the number of companies remaining active for at least three years reaching 1,776, a 5.3% increase year on year. 141 spinouts were funded. 

Why does this matter? 

Joe Marshall, Chief Executive of the National Centre for Universities and Business said: “Today’s data should serve as a wake-up call. The fragile recovery we saw last year has not been sustained. This slowdown cannot be separated from the financial pressures facing universities - when institutions are forced to cut the people and programmes that underpin collaboration, partnerships inevitably suffer. The UK cannot afford for this to become the new norm. 

Dr. Marshall concluded: “Despite these declines, university-business collaboration remains one of the UK’s core competitive strengths. The continued growth in successful spinouts demonstrates the global impact of UK research and entrepreneurship. But strategy without investment is not delivery. Stabilising university finances is not a sectoral concern - it is fundamental to national competitiveness. Without action, we risk undermining years of progress in building effective partnerships between universities and business, and with it, the UK’s position as a leading innovation economy.” 

The full dataset is available here.