The South West has lost more than £170million from students not being on campus during the coronavirus pandemic lockdown, new research shows.
Figures compiled by the company Studee, which matches students with universities, reveal the region’s major university towns and cities all took a huge hit from students returning home and cutting down on spending.
The study shows that in just six months, Exeter lost £37.7million, with Plymouth taking a £25.2million hit, and Falmouth losing £8.8million.
Bristol was worst affected in the region with a whopping £99.2million loss. That made it the eighth biggest loser in the UK, with London top, followed by Cardiff, Glasgow, Liverpool, Birmingham,. Manchester and Belfast.
Combined, the damage to the regional economy, for half a year, was £170.9million. To read the full report click here.
Studee said the coronavirus pandemic has affected universities across the world, and that now 13 UK universities are at risk of going bust, and 80% of students have struggled financially.
“It's not just universities and students who’ve suffered - university towns and cities have also experienced a loss of income when students were forced to move off campus and back to their families when the country first went into lockdown in March,” the report said. “We’ve researched the true cost of the pandemic for university cities and towns in the last six months.
“Lockdown has been tough for all areas of the country, but for those that have a large student population, the pandemic has been economically catastrophic.
“Some towns lost the majority of their communities when students left and millions of pounds went with them. High streets up and down the UK saw an 18.8% drop of non-food purchases in the three months to August, demonstrating the true cost that Covid-19 had. Remove a huge proportion of a town's population and the financial impact was even worse.
“We’ve worked out small towns like Egham may have lost as much as £18million and Falmouth more than £8million. Major cities that are home to larger student populations like London may have lost over £580million in the last six months.”
The money was lost in various ways, the report said, including spending on groceries, with an estimate that more than £1billion will have been lost in student towns and cities from grocery stores alone.
For instance, in Plymouth £10.9million was not spent on groceries, while in Bristol the figures was £38.5million.
And without students, takeaways across student towns and cities may have lost out on as much as £418million. In Plymouth food takeaways lost £2.7million and in Bristol it was £11.2million.
With nightclubs still closed and bars recently being told to restrict their opening hours, a night out on the town hasn’t been an option for students.
A huge £577million will have been lost from students not going out over the past six months across the UK, Studee said, with cities such as London taking a £81million hit from students not being able to venture out for a tipple or socialize with friends.
The study said that in Plymouth £2.9million was not spent on socialising, and in Bristol the amount not spent was £17.3million.
“Whether getting too and from campus or taking a taxi on a night out, students spend a huge amount of money getting where they need to go”, the report said, estimating that £574million could have been lost from the transport sector nationwide.
Sign up to get FREE South West business news straight to your inbox
BusinessLive South West is your home for business news in Bristol, Bath, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall.
You can sign up to receive FREE daily morning news bulletins from the region and we'll send out breaking news alerts for any stories we think you can't miss.
Visit our email preference centre to sign up to all the latest news from BusinessLive.
How to contact William Telford and Business Live
Business Live's South West Business Reporter is William Telford. William has more than a decade's experience reporting on the business scene in Plymouth and the South West. He is based in Plymouth but covers the entire region.
To contact William: Email: william.telford@reachplc.com - Phone: 01752 293116 - Mob: 07584 594052 - Twitter: @WTelfordHerald - LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com - Facebook: www.facebook.com/william.telford.5473
Stay in touch: BusinessLive newsletters have been re-designed to make them even better. We send morning bulletins straight to your inbox on the latest news, views and opinion in the South West. Get our breaking news alerts and weekly sector reviews too. Sign up now - it's free and it only takes a minute. To sign up for Business Live's daily newsletters click here.
And visit the Business Live South West LinkedIn page here
In a major city such as London, £130million could have been lost on transport alone. The second worst hit by transport costs was Hatfield, where students spend an average of £200 a month on transport resulting in a £29million loss. In Plymouth, £3.1million was lost on transport, and in Bristol it was £13.2million.
”There’s been little need for students to splash out on new clothes,” the report added and said shops could have lost as much as £347million from students not refreshing their wardrobes. It said £2.3million was not spent on buying clothes in Plymouth, and Bristol took a £8million hit.
And with hairdressers, beauty salons and gyms being closed across the country for many months, students weren’t splashing their cash on these luxuries.
Across the country, £172million is likely to have been withheld from this sector, with Bristol accounting for £4.5million of that, and Exeter £2.5million.
Charities and independent businesses have suffered from the lack of students too. Charities haven’t stopped needing support despite the pandemic, and yet more than £156million is predicted to have been lost from students not giving to charities or buying gifts across the UK. In Bristol the six-month cost was £6.6million.
