Founded in 1855 in the UK, Savills is one of the world’s leading multi-sector global property advisers, with an international network of over 600 offices and more than 39,000 professionals across 70 countries. We have 132 offices throughout the UK, which gives us a powerful platform from which we deliver a best in class service for our clients.
At Savills we take great pride in our education work. With more than 25 years of experience in the sector, it is a priority for our business. We have dedicated sector specialists working on and adding value to some of the UK’s most complex and high profile education projects.
We are a trusted partner, bringing an innovative approach to real estate, a strong client focus and commitment to our people and training to deliver a professional and personable service.
We provide the full spectrum of real estate services, helping you to add value, improve efficiencies, maximise function and unlock delivery
We understand the wider considerations driving your estate aspirations. We then apply our commercial expertise to help you challenge the norm with innovative, flexible solutions
Unrivalled geographical coverage across the UK. We understand your local market, allowing us to give you informed and insightful advice on your estate options
Savills Education brings together experienced sector specialists from across all aspects of our business, to facilitate knowledge sharing, establish best practice and ultimately provide optimal solutions to our higher education clients. We consider a wider understanding of the dynamics of the higher education sector to be crucial in providing robust advice in relation to:
We can provide comprehensive property advice across the entire development cycle, from formulating estate strategies, implementing projects and commencing operations, to optimising the efficiencies of an institution’s operational estate and renewal/redevelopment, including maximising value on surplus assets.
With our experience, commercial astuteness and culture of collaboration, we are ideally placed to advise on all estate matters, and to challenge where appropriate, in order to provide well-rounded guidance and identify future-proof solutions.
Savills Education collaborates seamlessly with experts from all market sectors across the business, and is underpinned and supported by our industry-leading research team.
Savills also manages the award-winning Charities Property Fund.
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To find out more about how Savills Education can assist you, please do get in touch with one of the central team:
“No one needs to be reminded that the university estate is facing testing times. At our recent annual conference at Cardiff University, two terms came up again and again: ‘right-sizing’ and ‘financial challenges’, with the latter driving the former. But while these pressures may be at play across the entire sector, experiences, and the magnitude of what is being asked of the estate and estate teams in response, differs significantly between institutions.
“However one thing is uniform: to find sustainable solutions, universities need to have a full understanding of the value of every part of the existing estate. This is not just in monetary terms, but knowing how every asset or space contributes to your university’s wider strategy, from its social value or its role in delivering net zero, to its future potential under a different use. The estate can’t be considered as ‘just’ a cost given how much it contributes to your institution’s identity and its intrinsic role in its success, and assuming ‘right-sizing’ means that the estate simply needs to shrink, and that disposals are always the best option, is unlikely to bring long-term success.
“In a difficult financial climate, we must challenge ourselves not just to maintain but to do more with what we’ve got. This must involve addressing any inefficient use of existing spaces, exploring refurbishment/repurposing options, and adopting a commercial approach to identify alternative revenue generation. This all requires innovative thinking and there are plenty of instances of our members, both within and outside the UK, that are sharing data and experiences to find solutions to the shared challenges. The sector has grasped the nettle: examples abound of those whose estates have adapted to address short-term pressures while not losing sight of their long-term goals. Beyond higher education, there is also a wealth of expertise and thinking that can be called on to assist.
“These may be difficult times, but this is when our members can leverage their expertise to encourage change, to perhaps try something different, and to find opportunities to be creative in how the estate is used.”
Jane Harrison-White, speaking as the new Savills EVOLVE: Higher Education microsite is launched (June 2025)
