EXCLUSIVE: Dundee University submits £100m rescue plea to government
Dundee University has submitted its formal request for a bumper £100 million cash bail-out to help reduced job losses and secure a stable future, The Courier can reveal.
The request was received by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) after weeks of discussions between the university, funding body and government.
It includes £40 million over two years and access to a liquidity facility of between £40m-£60m to support day-to-day spending.
Together, that means the government could be putting together a rescue package of £100m.
This is all on top of a previous loan of £22m already provided in March.
Insiders suggest some of this cash could come in the form of commercial loans from lenders, though negotiations on access to lending facilities have stalled.
The money will help to reduce the total number of redundancies and work towards a more stable financial footing over the next two years.
And while the sum is considerable, sources say that ensuring the region's educational future is secure is at the top of the government's priority list.
It comes after First Minister John Swinney was quizzed on the drawn-out negotiations at Holyrood on Thursday.
'The figure shouldn't be a surprise,' one insider said.
'The university have been engaging with the funding council and ministers on the level of support. This step was really just a formality.'
In an email to staff, interim principal Shane O'Neill confirmed the request for support.
He said: 'This additional support is necessary as we continue to make our recovery.
'We are making a substantial ask, which is reflective of the level of support needed around the proposals for a reduction in our staffing of up to 300 FTE via a voluntary severance scheme.
'The SFC will now consider the request we have made and we will provide further updates in due course.
'While those discussions continue I am not in a position to give substantive details but I will share more information as and when I can.'
Interim court chair Tricia Bey previously told MSPs that without the cash the university would likely have run out of money by the end of June.
Dundee-based Labour MSP Michael Marra said the SNP government should now 'follow through' on its commitment to provide the financial support required.
The MSP said: 'The financial costings of the government's target of 300 redundancies has now been completed.
'It has taken far too long and ministers must now ensure immediate action so university staff can begin to plan their lives again.
'The voluntary severance scheme can, should, indeed must be launched in the next week.
'That will help to slow the financial bleeding that has gone unchecked for seven months since the scale of the crisis was made known to the public.'
The Scottish Funding Council confirmed it had received the university's request.
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