Bursar's Report

The total comprehensive net income for the year ended 30 June 2023 was £3.7m compared to £5.9m for the year before. The main driver of this reduced performance was the impact of high inflation on both the College’s operational expenditure and the 2048 inflation-linked swap investment, although the impact on the swap was assuaged by the 7% inflation cap (put in place thanks to the foresight of my predecessor but one, Donald Hearn). Overall, the 2048 Fund is still running in excess of the liabilities, although the headroom has reduced.

The unrestricted operating deficit has decreased from £2.4m to £1m, in the main due to the return of our external hospitality business from Summer 2022, with this activity contributing a surplus of around £1.2m in the year ended 30 June 2022 to support College’s educational activities. This is a brilliant achievement by the combined hospitality teams of catering, conferencing and events, supported ably by our fantastic porters and housekeeping teams, in the first full summer after the pandemic – but with the North Range, including the main kitchen, still out of action for most of the financial year. The hospitality, housekeeping and porters teams have continued their strong performance with an even busier summer in 2023, although resourcing these teams fully has been challenging, with recruitment in the hospitality sector being particularly competitive. 

The continued high inflationary environment, combined with a competitive market for recruitment, places significant challenges on the College’s efforts to contain our recurrent cost base, especially as we are constrained in our ability to pass on significant increases in energy (54%) and food costs (19.1%) in full to College members. We are particularly conscious of the impact of the cost of living on our students, and while some student costs have had to increase, we are focused on passing on the minimum level of increase that we can, within the constraints of the College’s financial position.

With the UK tuition fee cap remaining unchanged, our academic income of £3.3m does not even cover half the educational expenditure of the College. I am grateful to alumni past and present for their generous support which has given Clare an endowment that enables us to continue delivering an excellent academic experience to our students in these challenging financial circumstances. The endowment drawdown funded £3.9m of College activities in the year ended 30 June 2023.

Higher inflation combined with the higher base rates affecting the property portfolio mean that expectations on the return from the endowment in the short to medium term need to remain prudent. It will be challenging to deliver the CPI + 3% needed to protect the real value of the endowment and generate the annual drawdown to fund College activities. The endowment grew by £5.8m in the year ended 30 June 2023, a rate of 3.6%, while CPI in the 12 months to June 2023 was 7.9%.

The Old Court project continues to dominate much of my time, with phase 1B completing during Easter Term 2023. The real highlights of my first year have been the topping out ceremony for the stunning new River Room and seeing students attending the first graduation dinner in the restored Hall for some years, both made possible thanks to the generosity of donors. My most unexpected moment of the year was climbing a ladder to the Hall ceiling to sign off the re-gilding of the Clare shields, which look spectacular and hopefully will not need another close-up Bursarial inspection for several decades. Our Estates department has managed a number of other complex projects across the year, including restoration of the Master’s Lodge and the complete refurbishment of Braeside at Castle Court, as well as the challenges of maintaining a wide variety of student accommodation across multiple sites. Clare is fortunate to have such a skilled and dedicated team.

The major building works continue with scaffolding going up around three quarters of Old Court for the final phase of the project that will see the roof of the west, south and east ranges replaced over the course of 2023–25, staircases refurbished, and many more showers installed so students only have to walk down the stairs to their ablutions. To enable this building work to happen, there has been much upheaval with the biggest set of office moves in several generations over the summer. I would like to thank all the Fellows and staff for their patience and hard work as we continue the renewal and restoration of Old Court in preparation for Clare’s 700^th anniversary in 2026.