Mills & Reeve has advised Cranfield University on its proposed merger with King’s College London, bringing together two highly regarded universities with complementary strengths in research, education, technology and engagement with industry and government.
Under the proposed merger, Cranfield would become part of King’s College London while retaining its recognised name, specialist heritage, brands and campuses within the combined institution. The universities are working towards coming together in 2027, subject to the necessary approvals and legal and regulatory steps.
This is a highly significant development for the higher education sector. Cranfield and King’s bring together complementary strengths, with the potential to create new opportunities for students, research, innovation and collaboration with industry and government.
We are proud to have supported Cranfield on this important project. It has required work across a complex legal and regulatory landscape and close collaboration between the universities and their advisers. We look forward to continuing to support Cranfield as the proposed merger moves towards completion.
Gregor Douglas, chief strategy officer and university secretary at Cranfield, said: “Mills & Reeve’s experience of higher education and university mergers has been invaluable throughout this process. Neil Burton and the wider team have worked closely with us, providing practical advice across the legal and regulatory issues involved and helping us reach this important stage.”
The proposed merger is intended to combine King’s broad academic strengths with Cranfield’s specialist expertise in areas including technology, engineering, management and environmental science, as well as its close relationships with industry and government.
The project builds on Mills & Reeve’s extensive work supporting the higher education sector on mergers, collaboration and financial resilience. The firm has advised on four other university mergers and worked with KPMG on research for the Universities UK Transformation and Efficiency Taskforce, exploring how greater collaboration can help institutions build resilience and develop more sustainable models for the future.
We expect strategic collaboration to continue to play an important role across higher education. Universities considering a merger need to navigate a wide range of strategic, legal and regulatory issues while ensuring the rationale for bringing institutions together remains at the heart of the project.
Having supported a number of major university mergers, our multidisciplinary team understands both the opportunities these projects can create and the complexities involved in delivering them.
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